Bill has NATO Global Hawk funds

Bloomberg reports that the Pentagon proposes in its new budget spending $1.2 billion for the first three NATO variant Global Hawk unmanned aircraft and three more Navy variants, according to an official. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization said this month it planned to buy five Alliance Ground System through 2017. The Navy already has two demonstration versions of the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance System. Congress will get the budget Feb. 13. (Source: Bloomberg, 02/09/12) Gulf Coast note: Northrop Grumman builds the Global Hawk fuselages in Moss Point, Miss. Previous related posts: NATO getting Global Hawks; Global Hawk variant to be cut; NATO to ink AGS deal in May

Fire Scout may go global

Navy leaders are considering selling Northrop Grumman Fire Scouts unmanned helicopters to Kuwait, Pakistan and the Netherlands, according to a presentation by Marine Corp. Col. James Rector of the Naval Air Systems Command. He made the comment during the Association for Unmanned Vehicles Systems International's annual program in Washington. There are also informal talks involving Australia and Japan to buy Global Hawk fixed-wing reconnaissance drones, also built by Northrop Grumman. (Source: AOL Defense, 02/09/12) Gulf Coast note: Fire Scouts and Global Hawks are built in part in Moss Point, Miss.

UT eyeing sale

United Technologies is studying the sale of a pump- and compressor-making division to raise cash for the planned purchase of aerospace supplier Goodrich Corp., according to Bloomberg, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Also under way is an effort to find a buyer for Pratt and Whiteny Rocketdyne, which makes engines for civilian and military rockets, the same sources said. (Source: Bloomberg, 02/09/12) Gulf Coast note: Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne has an operation at Stennis Space Center, Miss.; Goodrich owns the Alabama Service Center in Foley, Ala.

Contract: Lockheed Martin, $14.8M

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $14,800,000 modification to a previously awarded advance acquisition contract to procure long lead items for F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter low rate initial production Lot 6 short take-off vertical landing aircraft for the Marine Corps. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is necessary to protect the delivery schedules of STOVL aircraft planned for delivery through December 2014. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 02/09/12) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 training center.

Contracts: 2020, Oasis, COLSA

2020 Co. LLC., Falls Church, Va.; Oasis Systems LLC., Lexington, Mass.; and COLSA Corp., Huntsville, Ala. are each being awarded a $53,511,834 firm-fixed price, labor-hour, cost-reimbursement contract for the Technical and Acquisition Management Support Program. This program provides a wide range of diverse non-engineering, technical, and acquisition management support required in the acquisition, development, production, and support of various equipment and weapon systems within the Air Armament Center and other organizations at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The location of the performance is Eglin. Work is expected to be completed by Feb. 28, 2013. AAC/PKES, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 02/08/12)

Gaetz wants more base advocacy

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. -- State Sen. Don Gaetz is critical of how Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll is handling her role as the state's advocate for the Defense Support Task Force. "I think the lieutenant governor has been hesitant to engage in effective lobbying in Washington on Eglin issues," Gaetz told the Northwest Florida Daily News. The task force was created to preserve Florida's military bases and missions in an age of Pentagon cuts. Members decided the first priority should be lobbying to prevent the Air Force from placing Eglin’s 46th Test Wing under the command of a two-star general at California's Edwards Air Force Base. They fear it's a first step toward moving the wing's research, development, test and evaluation function to California. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 02/06/12)

Contract: Boeing, $18.3M

The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded an $18,300,000 cost-plus-incentive-fee and firm-fixed-priced items contract for an acceleration effort, regression testing, and a fuze risk reduction effort. The location of the performance is Saint Louis, Mo. Work is expected to be completed by Feb. 28, 2013. AAC/EDBK/EDBJ, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 02/07/12)

Group to take base fight to D.C.

MILTON, Fla. -- The Santa Rosa County Commission was given an update Monday on local plans to protect area bases from a possible Base Realignment and Closure round and other military cuts. Pete Gandy, a consultant with TEAM Santa Rosa, praised the work that Santa Rosa County commissioners have done for nearly 10 years to purchase and preserve the land around Naval Air Station Whiting Field, which trains military aviators. He said a five-county delegation supporting the military bases will go to Washington at the end of February to meet with congressional leaders to discuss issues facing Northwest Florida military bases. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 02/06/12)

Old airport to transfer this week

PANAMA CITY, Fla. -- The final transfer of the old airport in Panama City to its new owners will take place Wednesday or Thursday, officials said. The sale will help the airport pay off a number of debts and eliminate some $120,000 per month in costs at the old site. St. Andrew Bay Land Co. plans a village-type development at the 700-acre site. Air operations transferred to the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport near West Bay on May 23, 2010. (Source: Panama City News Herald, 02/06/12)

Drones in national airspace?

The House passed a bill Monday that starts the clock on safely integrating unmanned aerial vehicles into the national airspace, with full integration by the Sept. 30, 2015. The bill, previously passed by the Senate and now awaiting President Obama's signature, provides a number of deadlines for the Federal Aviation Administration. One is to establish six UAV test sites within six months. (Source: Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, USA Today, 02/06/12) Gulf Coast note: Global Hawk and Fire Scout UAVs are built in part in Moss Point, Miss.; several companies at Stennis Space Center, Miss., work with UAV sensors; the Coast Guard Aviation Center is involved in UAV training in Mobile, Ala.; Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is involved in UAV navigation systems.

Contract: Sikorsky, $26M

Sikorsky Support Services, Inc., Pensacola, Fla., was awarded a $26,063,162 modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery requirements contract to exercise an option for logistics services and materials for organizational, intermediate, and depot-level maintenance to support 161 T-34, 54 T-44, and 172 T-6 aircraft based primarily at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas; NAS Whiting Field, Fla.; and NAS Pensacola, Fla. Work will be performed in Corpus Christi (50 percent); Whiting Field (39 percent); Pensacola (8 percent); and various sites within the continental United States. Work is expected to be completed in April 2012. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 02/06/12)

Tyndall to get new F-22 squadron

PANAMA CITY, Fla. -- A new combat F-22 squadron will be coming to Tyndall Air Force Base in Northwest Florida beginning this summer, bringing up to 1,000 additional personnel. That's according to Brig. Gen. John K. McMullen, commander of the 325th Fighter Wing. He provided an assessment of Tyndall during the Bay County Chamber First Friday meeting. McMullen said the first personnel will begin arriving in July and aircraft in January 2013. McMullen also said 20 T-38s will be coming to the base over the next year. (Source: Panama City News Herald, 02/03/12)

NATO getting Global Hawks

NATO broke a nearly two-decade logjam and agreed to jointly fund operations of an airborne ground- surveillance system, including five Northrop Grumman Block 40 Global Hawks. The 28-member North Atlantic Treaty Organization approved a plan this week for all members to pay for support and operations, according to a statement Friday. The Alliance Ground Surveillance project, which is scheduled to come into use from 2015, will have its main base at Sigonella, Italy, and several associated command-and-control base stations. Virginia-based Northrop is the prime contractor. The drone is powered by Rolls-Royce engines. (Sources: Bloomberg, Reuters, 02/03/12) Previous

Cuts hit Keesler AFB

The proposed 2013 military budget designed to save the Air Force $8.7 billion over five years will eliminate hundreds of fighters, cargo planes, surveillance drones and surveillance planes from bases nationwide, according to details released Friday. Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., best known for its electronics training and home of the 403rd Reserve Wing, will lose 10 C-130Js in fiscal year 2014. That's half its total. The wing transports personnel and equipment and was a major player in combat operations in Southwest Asia. Another Mississippi base, Key Field Air National Guard in Meridian, will lose six C-27J in FY13 and one RC-26 in FY14. They'll be replaced by between nine and 11 MC-12s in FY14. Also of interest to the Gulf Coast region is the FY13 retirement of 18 Block 30 Global Hawks stationed at Beale Air Force Base, Calif. Fuselage work on Global Hawks is done in Moss Point, Miss. The force structure changes also affirms the Air Force's commitment to the F-35. Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the joint training center. (Source: Tcp, 02/03/12) Details

Becoming astronaut still popular

More than 6,300 people applied between Nov. 15, 2011 and Jan. 27 to become a NASA astronaut, the second highest number of applications ever received by the agency. The highest response occurred in 1978 with 8,000 applicants. After a thorough selection process, which includes interviews and medical examinations, nine to 15 people will be selected to become part of the 21st astronaut class. NASA expects to announce a final selection in the spring of 2013. The new astronauts will be the first to launch aboard a commercial rocket to the space station, said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. (Source: NASA, 02/03/12) South Mississippi is involved in space programs through NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center.

Contract: SRI, $13.2M

SRI International, Menlo Park, Calif., is being awarded a $13,200,000 cost-plus-award-fee, firm-fixed-price contract for the acquisition of a five-year research and development program. The Digital Video Laboratory (DVL) provides highly specialized hardware/software for data /video transmission, video compression, video data manipulation, image sensors, data/video storage, data/video retrieval and data/video searches. This contract will be used to acquire hardware, software, prototype systems, spiral software enhancements, installation and training support to support the 46 Test Wing's requirement to improve and modernize potential capabilities using digital data. The location of the performance is on an as required basis by delivery order. Work is expected to be completed by March 12, 2014. AAC/PKET, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 02/02/12)

Squadron changes command

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 will have a change of command ceremony Friday. Lt. Col. David R. Berke will take command from Lt. Col. James B. Wellons in a 10 a.m. ceremony at the Department of Navy and Marine Corps Hangar at Eglin Air Force Base. Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501, is the first Marine Corps squadron to receive F-35B aircraft for pilot and maintainer training at the 33rd Fighter Wing F-35 Integrated Training Center. (Source: Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., 02/02/12)

Eglin to get 17 F-35s this year

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. -- Eglin Air Force Base is scheduled to get another 17 F-35 jets this year, according to a Lockheed Martin official. Stephen O'Bryan, vice president of Lockheed's F-35 program integration, provided the local media with an update Wednesday. Eglin, where pilots and maintainers from all branches of the military will be trained, already has nine of the jets, three of them the Marine Corps variant F-35B and the other six Air Force F-35A. The jets to arrive this year will include the first Navy version, the F-35C. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 02/01/12)

Contract: EADS, $10.1M

EADS - NA, Herndon, Va., was awarded a $10,128,500 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the modification of an existing contract for contract logistic support services. Work will be performed in Columbus, Miss., with an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, 2013. Five bids were solicited, with three bids received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 02/01/12)

Tyndall to test ceramic coating

Test buildings at Tyndall. Air Force photo

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Air Force engineers and researchers are hoping to find out whether a ceramic coating can help the military reach energy savings goals. Engineers at the Air Force Civil Engineer Support Agency will test the coating in April using two nearly identical buildings. The ceramic coating product, which is flexible, has been around for 20 years, but was never mass marketed. It performs well in a lab setting, and if it does the same in the field it could have multiple applications in warm climates, possibly even in an expeditionary setting. (Source: AFCESA, 01/31/12)