Contract: Utilis, $6.2M

Utilis USA, LLC, Fort Walton Beach, Fla., is being awarded $6,213,975 under a previously awarded contract for general purpose medium shelters. Work will be performed in Fort Walton Beach; Celina, Ohio; and Destin, Fla. and is expected to be completed in February 2010. Marine Corps Systems Command (M67854), Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 08/13/09)

Mobile gets new air service

MOBILE, Ala. – A new charter air service is now available in Mobile. Springdale Travel and Charter Services launched their “Mobile Direct” with a demonstration flight from Mobile Regional Airport to Birmingham. They use an eight-seat Cessna Citation jet that will serve airports within 1,500 miles of Mobile. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 08/12/09)

Seattle frets as Boeing eyes South

SEATTLE - The possibility of a second Boeing assembly site for the 787 outside Washington has spread concern in the state's aerospace industry. Boeing is looking at sites in Washington and South Carolina to house a new final assembly plant for its 787 because the aircraft is two years behind schedule. Industry observers say the company is also looking at sites in Texas and elsewhere in the South. (Source: Wall Street Journal, 08/11/09)

Fire Scout featured on computer game

SAN DIEGO – Northrop Grumman’s Fire Scout unmanned helicopter is featured in the latest version of the U.S. Army's America's Army 3 computer game. America's Army 3 includes Fire Scout as part of an introduction to the game's Unmanned Aircraft Systems integration. America's Army is one of the most popular computer game franchises. (Source: Northrop Grumman, 08/11/09) Gulf Coast note: Fire Scouts are built in part in Moss Point, Miss.

Fire Scout completes flight tests

SAN DIEGO - The Fire Scout unmanned helicopter recently completed flight tests aboard the USS McInerney, part of a series of evaluations leading to operational evaluation this fall. The tests took place last month off the coast of Mayport, Fla., and the total number of shipboard landings was pushed to 88 under a variety of conditions. The Fire Scout is slated to deploy aboard McInerney during its next counter-narcotics trafficking deployment later this year. (Source: Northrop via Globe Newswire, 08/10/09) Gulf Coast note: Fire Scouts are built in part in Moss Point, Miss.

Orion to visit Pensacola, Stennis

A full scale mockup of NASA's Orion crew exploration vehicle will be moved from Florida to Texas to continue its testing. But on the way it will make several stops so the public can see the Constellation Program vehicle. After a stop in Tallahassee Monday, the mockup will be at Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., then at John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. It goes on to Jackson, Miss., Thursday and arrives at Houston Friday. The mockup is used to study the environment for astronauts and recovery crews after an Orion ocean splashdown. (Source: NASA, 08/07/09)

Hurricane Hunters in Hawaii

HONOLULU, Hawaii – Five Air Force Reserve WC-130Js from Mississippi arrived at Hickam Air Force Base Friday to track Hurricane Felicia. The planes are with the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron based at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, and are known as Hurricane Hunters. The planes fly into the eye of a hurricane to make critical measurements about the storm. (Source: AP via Sun Herald, 08/08/09)

Avalex sees growth in ground vehicle biz

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Avalex Technologies, known for aircraft display systems, is getting more involved in supplying displays and digital recorders for military ground vehicles. Company officials, who say 92 percent of their work is in aerospace, see continued growth in the military ground vehicle market. It’s projected to reach 25 percent of Avalex’s gross sales. The company plans to attend the Aug. 10-12 Military Vehicles Exhibition & Conference in Detroit. Avalex has products for land, air and sea vehicles. (Source: Avalex, 08/05/09)

Global Hawk marks milestone

SAN DIEGO - Northrop Grumman’s RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft system recently reached the milestone of 25,000 combat hours during a sortie in July from a deployed location. It was first flown in 1998 and has logged 1,229 missions, many of them non-combat. It can reach more than 60,000 feet in altitude for more than 32 hours. (Source: Northrop Grumman via Globe Newswire, 08/05/09) Gulf Coast note: Global Hawk central fuselage work is done in Moss Point, Miss.

Singapore Technologies 2Q report

Singapore Technologies Engineering reported its profit fell 9 percent for the second quarter of 2009 to $75.91 million from the second quarter 2008. It is the parent company of ST Mobile Aerospace Engineering, which has 1,200 workers at Brookley Field Industrial Complex in Mobile, Ala., and VT Halter Marine, which has 1,500 employees at shipyards in Pascagoula, Moss Point and Escatawpa, Miss. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 08/05/09)

AF focuses on info protection

Cyber attacks on government systems have gotten the attention of the Defense Department. In a recent directive memorandum, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz wrote that the ability to protect information is essential to the success of the Air Force mission and warrants special attention. The Information Protection directorate, established in 2007, hosted a workshop at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., in June to exchange ideas about guarding information. Attending were more than 130 IP team members from major commands and installations. The workshop's objective was for attendees to return to their duty locations with the same knowledge base to impart to their colleagues. (Source: AFNS, 08/03/09)

Pentagon eyes bunker buster speedup

Reuters reports that the Pentagon wants to speed deployment of its 30,000-pound "bunker-buster" bomb to place on radar-evading Northrop Grumman B-2s soon as July 2010. The non-nuclear Massive Ordnance Penetrator, still being tested, is designed to destroy deeply buried bunkers beyond the reach of existing bombs. The 20-foot long bomb built by Boeing is a third heavier than the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Burst Bomb, which was tested twice at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., in 2003. The MOP program is handled by Eglin. (Source: Reuters, 08/02/09. AF photo)

Race for 2nd F-35 training heats up

The Arizona Republic is reporting that the Air Force is re-evaluating secondary bases that will be used for F-35 training, adding more criteria. All bases are again in the running. The paper says the Air Force secretary and the Air Force chief of staff have asked that additional factors, such as housing and medical access, be considered. Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the primary training site, and Luke Air Force Base in Arizona and Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho were top runners for the secondary location. (Source: Arizona Republic, 08/01/09) Gulf Coast note: Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., has been lobbying to become a site for the F-35s.

Euro Hawk structural assembly complete

SAN DIEGO - Northrop Grumman has finished assembling the first Euro Hawk unmanned aircraft system for the German Ministry of Defence. The Euro Hawk, a derivative of the Block 20 Global Hawk, will serve as the German Air Force's high-altitude, long-endurance signals intelligence system. (Source: Northrop Grumman, 07/31/09) Gulf Coast note: Central fuselage work for Global Hawks is done in Moss Point, Miss.

Ex-officer guilty in scheme

PENSACOLA, Fla. – A retired Air Force officer was convicted of destroying records and lying to a grand jury in connection with contracts awarded by a research lab at Eglin Air Force Base. Richard Schaller was accused of helping another retired Air Force officer who worked at the Air Force Research Laboratory on Eglin steer contracts to Schaller's company. (Source: AP, 07/31/09)

Aviation museum gets new exhibit

PENSACOLA, Fla. – The National Naval Aviation Museum this week got a new aircraft for display – an SH-60B Seahawk that has been in continuous duty with the Navy since 1986. It flew in Wednesday and was officially unveiled Thursday. The helicopter flew more than 8,700 hours. Missions included training, counter-submarine and counter-narcotics. (Source: Pensacola News Journal, 07/31/09)

Boeing completes SC plant purchase

Boeing completed acquisition of the business and operations of Vought Aircraft Industries’ South Carolina facility, where a structure for the 787 Dreamliner is built. The purchase was originally announced July 7. The plant in North Charleston will be called Boeing Charleston, which will be managed by the 787 program, and will continue to perform fabrication, assembly and systems installation for 787 aft fuselage sections. (Source: Boeing, 07/30/09) Gulf Coast note: Boeing is competing against Northrop Grumman/EADS to build an aerial tanker for the Air Force. EADS wants to build the plane assembly plant in Mobile, Ala.

White House resists split tanker buy

The White House budget office complained this week about Congressional pressure to split the aerial refueling tanker buy between Boeing and Northrop Grumman. A statement said the administration supports taking advantage of efficiencies associated with an award to a single contractor. If the Northrop Grumman/EADS team wins it will assemble the planes in Mobile, Ala. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 07/30/09)

X-47B passes structural tests

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – A series of static and dynamic proof load tests were recently completed to validate the design and structural integrity of the Northrop Grumman X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System. It was done under the UCAS Carrier Demonstration program. The X-47B, now designated with Navy Bureau Number 168063, will undergo engine integration and taxi tests through the fall in preparation for first flight and carrier trials. (Source: Northrop Grumman, 07/29/09) Gulf Coast note: Northrop Grumman builds portions of the Global Hawk and Fire Scout UAVs in Moss Point, Miss.

Stennis does last shuttle engine test

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. – The last Space Shuttle Main Engine test was conducted this afternoon at this South Mississippi NASA center. The test marked the end of 34 years of testing space shuttle main engines at Stennis. The center’s new mission is helping NASA prepare for the next era of human spaceflight, the Constellation Program. Last year and the year before Stennis did component tests for the J-2X engine that will be used in the program. A new test stand is being built at Stennis for future J-2X testing. (Source: Tcp, 07/29/09)