Study: F-35 twice as loud as F-15

At military housing areas and base schools on Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., noise from F-35 operations will be twice as loud as F-15 flights, reaching 83 decibels. Off base, F-35 noise will reach up to 90 decibels in neighborhoods under an Eglin flight path. That's according to an environmental impact study prompted by plans to set up the joint F-35 pilot and maintenance training school at Eglin. The city of Valparaiso has expressed concern over the noise, and filed suit to get more information. The report released this month shows the number of people exposed frequently to sound levels of 75 decibels or more would rise from 142 to 2,174. (Source: Air Force Times, 10/26/08)

AF works on cyberspace roadmap

BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. - The Air Force Cyber Command (Provisional) team at Barksdale and Air Force Space Command are determining how the two groups will jointly shape the cyberspace mission. The Air Force chief of staff announced Oct. 8 that there will be no new major command formed for cyberspace operations. It will instead be a numbered Air Force under the Space Command. Barksdale and locations along the Gulf Coast were among those competing for the new headquarters. (Source: Air Force News Service, 10/24/08)

City refiles suit for F-35 noise info

VALPARAISO, Fla. - The city of Valparaiso decided to re-file a suit against the Air Force. The city first filed suit last month seeking information about the F-35 and the noise it will bring to Eglin Air Force Base. The suit was never filed as the city and Eglin continued to talk. The new lawsuit says the Air Force should provide the information free or at a reduced cost rather than the more than $1 million the Air Force said it will cost. Source: WEAR-TV3, 10/24/08)

Teledyne 3Q report

Profits and sales at Teledyne Technologies continued to rise in the third quarter. The Thousand Oaks, Calif., based company reported profits of $30.9 million, up 14 percent from 2007’s third quarter. The news was not as good for the company’s Mobile subsidiary, Teledyne Continental Motors. The operation laid off 20 workers from its second shift earlier this month because of slumping demand for airplane engines and parts, leaving it with about 500 workers. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 10/24/08)

Raytheon 3Q report

Raytheon said third-quarter profit rose 12 percent on higher international sales of border-security equipment and Patriot air-defense systems. The company said 2008 profit will be higher than it previously forecast and that earnings next year may exceed estimates. Profit from continuing operations beat the estimates, rising to $427 million, or $1.01 a share, from $380 million, or 86 cents, a year earlier, Waltham, Massachusetts-based Raytheon said in a statement. (Source: Bloomberg, 10/23/08)

Goodrich 3Q report

Goodrich reported third quarter 2008 net income of $168 million, or $1.33 per diluted share, on sales of $1,772 million. In the third quarter 2007, the company reported net income of $127 million, or $0.99 per diluted share, on sales of $1,602 million. Third quarter 2008 sales increased 11 percent and net income per diluted share increased 34 percent compared with the third quarter 2007. Income from continuing operations during the third quarter 2008 was $168 million, a 20 percent increase over income from continuing operations of $140 million in the third quarter 2007. (Source: PRNewswire, 10/23/08)

General Dynamics 3Q report

FALLS CHURCH, Va. - General Dynamics reported 2008 third-quarter earnings from continuing operations of $634 million, or $1.59 per share on a fully diluted basis, compared to 2007 third-quarter earnings from continuing operations of $544 million, or $1.34 per share fully diluted. Revenues rose to $7.1 billion in the quarter, a 4.5 percent increase over third-quarter 2007 revenues of $6.8 billion. Net earnings, which were equal to earnings from continuing operations, increased 16 percent over the year-ago period. (Source: PRNewswire, 10/22/08)

Lockheed Martin 3Q report

Lockheed Martin reported third quarter 2008 net earnings of $782 million, $1.92 per diluted share, compared to $766 million, $1.80 per diluted share, in 2007. Net sales were $10.6 billion, a 5 percent decrease from third quarter 2007 sales of $11.1 billion. Cash from operations for the third quarter of 2008 was $1.0 billion, compared to $935 million in 2007. (Source: Lockheed Martin, 10/22/08)

Northrop Grumman 3Q report

WASHINGTON - Northrop Grumman said higher sales of surveillance systems helped boost its third-quarter profit 4.7 percent and spurred the defense contractor to raise its 2008 earnings forecast. The Los Angeles-based company reported net income of $512 million, or $1.51 per share, in the quarter ending Sept. 30, up from $489 million, or $1.41 per share, a year earlier. (Source: AP, 10/22/08)

Boeing 3Q report

CHICAGO - The Boeing Company's third-quarter net income declined 38 percent, to $695 million, while earnings per share declined 33 percent to $0.96 per share, both reflecting an ongoing machinists' strike and supplier production challenges. Those items reduced third-quarter commercial airplane deliveries by approximately 35 units and net earnings by an estimated $0.60 per share. Revenues for the quarter declined 7 percent, to $15.3 billion. (Source: PRNewswire, 10/22/08)

Virginia-class sub launches Tomahawk

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - A Virginia class submarine fired a Raytheon Tomahawk Block IV missile from the Gulf of Mexico to engage a simulated target. The flight completes the integration of the Tomahawk cruise missile onto the Navy's newest fast-attack submarine. Tomahawk Block IV is a surface- and submarine-launched precision strike stand-off weapon designed for long-range precision strike missions. (Source: PRNewswire, 10/21/08)

Goodrich Foley gets airline contract

FOLEY, Ala. - Goodrich Corp. won a four-year contract with US Airways to repair thrust reversers at its Foley facility. Goodrich started the work for the Phoenix-based airline in June. The contract covers thrust reversers for an engine found on Airbus A320. Over the past 12 months Goodrich has repaired about 500 thrust reversers. Goodrich employs about 800 people in Foley. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 10/21/08)

Contract: Rush-Peak Three, $9.2M

Rush-Peak Three, Titusville, Fla., was awarded a $9.24 million firm fixed fee price contract for construction of a multi-story parking garage at the headquarters of U.S. Special Operations Command compound at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., with completion Feb. 27, 2010. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, Mobile, Ala., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 10/20/08)

Contract; Raytheon, $12.9M

The Air Force is modifying a cost plus fixed fee contract with Raytheon Missile Systems of Tucson, Ariz., for $12.94 million to provide 436 propulsion sections to be installed into AIM-120B Air Vehicles. This effort supports foreign military sales to Turkey, Denmark, and Finland. 695ARSS, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 10/20/08)

Mississippi forges ties with Japan NASA

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. - A delegation of Mississippi's space industry traveled to Tokyo to meet with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency following the delegation's participation in the 2008 Japan International Aerospace Exhibition in Yokohama. Craig Harvey, COO of NVision Solutions Inc., John Henry Jackson of the Mississippi Development Authority and Mark Lanoue, CEO of Emerging Technologies LLC, discussed Mississippi's role in global space technology markets with JAXA officials. Mississippi is home to Stennis Space Center and has interests in propulsion system and geospatial technologies. (Source: NVision Solutions, 10/20/08)

Mini robots focus of FWB workshop

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. - Navigation systems for miniature autonomous systems will be the topic of a workshop Monday through Wednesday at the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort. "Challenges for Miniature Autonomous Systems" is sponsored by Eglin Air Force Base's Air Force Research Lab/Munitions Directorate. Trends show future autonomous systems will be less than 20 pounds, air-launched from small UAVs and used in greater numbers than current systems. Technical challenges include navigation, sensors and payloads. The workshop is for the DoD technical and user community, academia and industry. (Source: The Institute of Navigation)

AC-27 gunship buy OKd for Special Ops

FORT WALTON BEACH, FL. - InsideDefense says Air Force Special Operations Command received the Pentagon's nod to buy 16 L-3 Communications-Alenia AC-27 gunships. The plane, based on the Italian Alenia C-27 transport, is small than the Special Ops AC-130 and would supplement that aircraft. In addition to either a 30-millimeter or 40-millimeter gun, the AC-27 will fire stand-off, precision-guided munitions like the Viper Strike bomb. AF Special Ops is headquartered at Hurlburt Field, Fla. (Source: InsideDefense, 10/17/08)

JSF impact statement released

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - The final Environmental Impact Statement about the new missions at Eglin Air Force Base is now available. The study is part of the process for moving the Joint Strike Fighter and the 7th Special Forces Group to Eglin. The release marks the start of a 30-day public review. The document is available at the Eglin Web site and area public libraries. There have been concerns raised about the noise the F-35s will bring to communities around Eglin. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 10/17/08)

Interest in Gulfport airport keen

GULFPORT, Miss. - Aviation-related businesses have shown keen interest in an area near Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport. Airport Authority Commissioner Frank Genzer noted the interest during Thursday's quarterly meeting of the Sun Herald Business Roundtable. Much of the interest has been about a road that will lead to a new air-cargo facility and general aviation. He did not name names. (Source: The Sun Herald, 10/17/08)

IHMC's Ford named NASA advisory council chair

PENSACOLA, Fla. - Ken Ford, director of the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, was named chairman of the NASA Advisory Council. He replaces Jack Schmitt, another scientist who walked on the moon in 1972. The council provides the space agency with advice on programs and various issues of importance. Ford was appointed to the NASA Advisory Council in 2007. (Source: Pensacola News Journal, 10/17/08)