Contractor taking over Keesler support

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. - Keesler leaders and Computer Sciences Corp. officials are working together to ensure a smooth transition from government to contractor responsibility for Keesler Air Force Base support operations. CSC will begin picking up the workload Nov. 1 in a transition that will take 90 days. Roger Condit, CSC program manager at Keesler, said recruiting efforts have resulted in more than 1,300 job applicants to date. More than 90 percent of the positions have been filled. (Source: Keesler Air Force Base, 10/16/08)

Work with NASA forum lures 150

NEW ORLEANS, La. - An economic development forum Wednesday attracted about 150 small business owners who wanted to learn more about doing business with NASA. Louisiana Aerospace Industry Day was sponsored by Boeing and Lockheed Martin, both major NASA contractors on the next-generation Constellation program. The group heard from representatives of about a dozen companies. Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans will build some of the spacecraft for Constellation and Mississippi's Stennis Space Center will test propulsion systems. (Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune, 10/16/08)

Tanker program gets new manager

ARLINGTON, Va. - EADS North America named Randy Hutcherson vice president and program manager for EADS North America Tankers, the business unit with primary subcontractor responsibility in support of the Northrop Grumman KC-45A tanker. EADS and Northrop Grumman had planned to assemble the KC-45A in Mobile, Ala., but the contract was terminated following a Boeing protest and punted to the next administration. Hutcherson previously was EADS North America vice president for rotorcraft programs. David D. Haines has been appointed to the rotorcraft post. (Source: EADS North America, 10/15/08)

Trent Lott named to EADS NA board

EADS North America announced the appointment of Trent Lott, former senator from Mississippi, to the company's board of directors. Lott is the former U.S. Senate Majority Leader who also served in the House of Representatives. EADS North America CEO Ralph Crosby said Lott will provide "invaluable expertise as our company expands its presence in the U.S. defense and homeland security sectors." EADS owns the Eurocopter facility in Mississippi and still hopes to build tankers in Mobile, Ala. (Source: EADS North America, 10/15/08)

Raytheon missile in Navy user program

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – Raytheon's AIM-120C7 advanced medium range air-to-air missile has entered the Navy's weapon system user program. Two Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet strike-fighters fired two Raytheon-built missiles, an AIM-120C7 and AIM-9X, the first time the two were launched by a fleet-assigned operational Super Hornet and the first time the Navy employed both missiles in the same mission. The firings were a joint effort with the Air Force's Weapon System Evaluation Program and showed the AIM-120C7 can operate in a joint environment. The missiles were fired by aircraft assigned to the Navy's VFA-143 squadron and were launched against a BQM-167A target drone during a mission with Air Force F-15Cs from Eglin Air Force Base's 60th Fighter Squadron. (Source: PR Newswire, 10/15/08)

Stennis-Michoud group formed

NEW ORLEANS, La. - Louisiana and Mississippi officials are meeting in New Orleans today to explore ways to leverage Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans and John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi as an economic development magnet. The group, which includes leaders of economic development organizations in both states, will discuss steps to take to make the corridor attractive to aerospace companies. Michoud and Stennis will be heavily involved in the Constellation program. Michoud will build portions of the spacecraft and Stennis will test propulsion systems. (Source: Tcp, 10/15/08) (Background: “Is giant leap in the making?” Alliance Insight, 01/2008)

Seven Hurlburt airmen receive medals

HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. - Seven airmen were honored Tuesday for actions in Afghanistan. Lt. Gen. Donald Wurster, commander of the Air Force Special Operations Command, awarded three Bronze Stars and seven Air Force Combat Action Medals to members of the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 10/14/08)

PC research park moves forward

PANAMA CITY, Fla. – Plans to develop a research park on under-utilized land at Lynn Haven Fuel Depot are moving forward. Tyndall Development Partners LLC, owned and managed by Hunt ELP Ltd., of El Paso, Texas, was selected to negotiate the transfer. The Lynn Haven Fuel Depot property consists of three parcels totaling 184 acres. Forty acres will be transferred to Florida State University to use as a satellite campus; 50 acres is a railroad right-of-way that will likely be used to improve access to the site; and the remaining 94 acres will be developed by Tyndall Development Partners, LLC. (Source: Air Force Link, 10/14/08)

Austrian UAV lands on French ship

It was a milestone when a Northrop Grumman Fire Scout helicopter drone landed on a ship in January 2006. Now an Austrian Camcopter S-100 has done so. Last week French shipyard DCNS demonstrated a deck landing and take-off system, called the SADA, using an Austrian-built Schiebel VTOL. The Northrop Grumman Fire Scout is built in part in Moss Point, Miss. (Source: Aviation Week, 10/13/08)

No agreement in Boeing strike

SEATTLE - A second round of mediated talks between Boeing and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers adjourned without agreement. No new talks are set. Some 27,000 employees in Washington, Oregon and Kansas have been on strike since Sept. 6. Boeing also has operations in the Gulf Coast. (Source: PR Newswire, 10/13/08)

GD Niceville part of JAGM missile project

The Lockheed Martin team chosen for a $122 million technology development contract for the Joint Air-to-Ground Missile system includes General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems of Niceville, Fla., which will focus on the multi-purpose warhead. JAGM replaces the HELLFIRE II and Longbow HELLFIRE missiles on the Army's Apache attack helicopter, the Warrior unmanned aerial system, the Arapaho reconnaissance helicopter, the Marine Corps' Super Cobra attack helicopter and on the Navy's Seahawk. JAGM will also replace the Maverick missile on the F/A-18 Hornet and may be used on the F-35. (Source: Lockheed Martin, 10/08/08)

LM Stennis delivers key satellite hardware

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - The largest A2100 spacecraft core structure ever built by Lockheed Martin has been delivered to the company's facilities in Sunnyvale, Calif. The core structure with an integrated propulsion subsystem is the first satellite in the Navy’s Mobile User Objective System constellation. The design features third generation mobile technology for simultaneous voice and data services. It was developed and tested at Lockheed Martin's Mississippi Space and Technology Center, an advanced propulsion, thermal, and metrology facility at John C. Stennis Space Center. (Source: Lockheed Martin, 10/13/08)

Robots over South Mississippi

MOSS POINT, Miss. - It will be a significant milestone when it occurs. Early next year a Northrop Grumman-built Fire Scout will have its first production test flight over South Mississippi. (Source: Alliance Insight, October 2008)

Nodine claims split tanker buy in works

Mobile County Commissioner Stephen Nodine says that, according to his best sources on Capitol Hill, the Pentagon likely will authorize buying tankers from both Boeing and the Northrop Grumman/EADS team. That's according to an item in a Sunday column by Pensacola News Journal reporter Carlton Proctor. The Pentagon has said it's too costly, but lately there's been more talk from a lot of circles about a split buy. Boeing wants to build tankers in Washington State, Northrop/EADS wants to build them in Mobile, Ala. (Source: Pensacola News Journal, 10/12/08)

Plane reroute prompts noise complaints

MOBILE, Ala. - Repairs on the main runway at Brookley Field have changed flight patterns, prompting some Midtown Mobile residents to complain about the noise. The 75-day project should be finished by early December. The main runway was closed to install new lights, and planes are using the secondary runway. Brookley has about 89,000 takeoffs and landings per year, or more than 200 a day. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 10/10/08)

FAA OKs Goodrich composite cowl

FOLEY, Ala. - Goodrich Corp. received FAA supplemental certification for a lightweight fan cowl design for V2500-A5 engine nacelles. Goodrich's Aerostructures business unit, through its Alabama Service Center in Foley, Ala., will provide a one-piece cowl as part of its aftermarket support program. The cowl, developed with Bombardier Aerospace of Northern Ireland, uses Bombardier's resin transfer infusion process that replaces the traditional honeycomb interior. The International Aero Engines V2500-A5 is widely used on the Airbus A320 aircraft, including the A319 and A321. There are some 2,500 of the engines in service. (Source: Tcp, Goodrich release, 10/09/08)

Aerospace industry day set

NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Louisiana Technology Council is hosting a Louisiana Aerospace Industry Day Oct. 15 at the New Orleans Sheraton. Small business specialists from Huntsville's Marshall Space Flight Center and Mississippi's Stennis Space Center and Shared Services Center will give presentations on contracting opportunities. Sen. David Vitter is the scheduled speaker. Details. (Source: Tcp, 10/09/08)

NASA transition job losses updated

NASA released the latest estimates on the number of jobs that will be lost with the transition from the Space Shuttle program to Constellation. For Mississippi's Stennis Space Center, the figure is the same as the previous March estimate – 200. In FY 2008 Stennis had 400 in the space program. Back in March NASA estimated Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans would lose between 800 and 1,300 jobs in the transition. The latest estimate settles on the figure of 800. Michoud in FY 2008 had 1,900 workers. (Source: Tcp, 10/09/08)

Cyber command fades

BILOXI, Miss. - Air Force senior leaders met in Colorado Springs last week and decided to establish a nuclear major command rather than a separate Air Force cyber command. Biloxi and other cities around the country had put in pitches to be chosen as headquarters for the cyber command. Now it will be a numbered air force within space command. (Source: The Sun Herald, 10/09/08)

Michoud reduces job losses

NEW ORLEANS, La. - Three dozen workers were laid off Wednesday at the Michoud Assembly Facility in eastern New Orleans, fewer than the 200 expected in the first round of employment reductions as the space shuttle program winds down. Cuts in the Lockheed Martin workforce had been expected as the contract to build shuttle external fuel tanks comes ends. All of the tanks needed to fly the shuttle before its 2010 retirement are already in production. (Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune, 10/09/08)