Work continues toward alternative fuels

ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. - An F-15 Eagle engine is undergoing performance testing using a unique blend of three different fuel types. The F100 engine is being tested with a combination of JP-8 conventional aviation fuel, a biofuel derived from an animal fat and a synthetic fuel derived from coal. The fuels testing is being conducted to ensure the different fuels, in varying combinations, are suitable for an upcoming series of F-15 flight tests tentatively scheduled for October at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. (Source: AFNS, 09/20/10)

Fire Scout flights to resume soon

Flights of the Fire Scout unmanned helicopter the Navy is testing to operate from its warships will resume Sept. 20, the Navy announced late Thursday. The UAVs were grounded after operators lost control of one on Aug. 2 and it entered restricted airspace around Washington. This time they’ll be flying in Yuma, Ariz. The Navy had been flying Fire Scouts from a field near Naval Air Station Patuxent River in southern Maryland. Testing will resume there after engineers validate updated software for the aircraft. New software is scheduled to be installed early next month. (Source: Navy Times, 09/16/10) Gulf Coast note: Fire Scouts are built in part in Moss Point, Miss.

Airport chief gives blunt assessment

NEW ORLEANS - After 100 days in office, the new head of the New Orleans airport said Louis Armstrong International suffers from major management and staffing deficiencies and is headed for more problems if things don't change quickly. Iftikhar Ahmad, former airport administrator in Nashville, Tenn., said the airport is understaffed, lacks an overall business strategy and there are no performance measures. (Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune, 09/15/10)

Contract: Jacobs, $12M

Jacobs Technology Inc., Fort Walton Beach, Fla., is being awarded $12,058,815 for a task order under a previously awarded contract to provide support of the transition from the Navy/Marine Corps Intranet environment to the next Marine Corps Information Technology environment. This includes financial planning, programming, budgeting and execution of the USMC enterprise budget throughout the Future Year Defense Plan; program management activities; USMC representation and coordination with Navy Next Generation Enterprise Network office, the Secure Operational Network Infrastructure Capability Program of Record activities as well as providing expertise in all other forums related to the delivery of this new IT environment. Work will be performed in Dumfries, Va., Washington, D.C., and Stafford, Va. Work is expected to be completed in September 2011. The Marine Corps System Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/16/10)

Contract: EDO, $11.4M

EDO Communications & Countermeasures Systems Inc., Thousand Oaks, Calif., was awarded a $11,400,000 contract modification to provide sustaining engineering services in support of the B-1 and B-52 mission data test laboratories and special test equipment. Work will directly support the maintenance, operation and technical capabilities of the electronic warfare systems mock-ups, special test equipment and mobile test facilities. AAC/PKES, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/16/10)

WTO: Boeing received illegal subsidies

The World Trade Organization dispute settlement panel ruled Wednesday that Boeing received U.S. government subsidies to develop aircraft. The interim ruling, reported by numerous media organizations, is confidential and a final ruling is not expected for several months. Three months ago the WTO found that European countries provided illegal subsidies to Boeing rival Airbus. The biggest impact of the ruling could be forcing the United States and European Union to come up with a negotiated settlement on subsidies. (Sources: Multiple, including Reuters, AP, Bloomberg, 09/15/10) Gulf Coast note: Boeing and Airbus parent, EADS, are competing for a $40 billion contract to build tankers for the U.S. Air Force. EADS wants to assemble its tankers in Mobile, Ala.

Squadron gets new commander

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. - Col. Richard McBride Jr. took command of the 81st Diagnostics and Therapeutics Squadron Tuesday. He succeeds Col. Stephanie McCann, who retired Aug. 1. McBride's squadron consists of diagnostic imaging, nutritional medicine, pharmacy and pathology and clinical laboratory flights and is comprised of more than 300 military members and civilians. (Source: 81st Medical Group Public Affairs, 09/15/10)

Testing snow tires in Florida

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - Snow fell and temperatures reached 20 degrees inside the McKinley Climatic Lab in preparation to test snow traction and ice braking capabilities on vehicle tires. Lab engineers had snow falling Sept. 4 to fill the chamber and create the freezing and icy conditions needed for the customer, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. It took two long days to fill the 55,000 foot chamber with snow and reach the conditions required, according to Matt McCarty, test engineer with McKinley Lab. The McKinley Lab has been an Eglin icon since 1947 and is the largest climatic lab in the world. The 46th Test Wing facility is primarily used for military testing, but provides services to commercial companies and even foreign countries. (Source: Eglin Public Affairs, 09/13/10)

Contract: BAE Systems, $38M

BAE Systems of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., was awarded a $38,096,209 contract modification which will manage, operate, maintain and logistically support the solid state phase array radar system at Cape Cod, Air Force Station, Massachusetts; Beale Air Force Base, Calif.; Thule Air Base, Greenland; Clear Air Force Station, Alaska; and Royal Air Force Flyingdales, United Kingdom, for fiscal 2011. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. 21 CONS/LGCZB, Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/13/10)

Orion testing continues at Michoud

NEW ORLEANS - The first Orion capsule passed a structural proof pressure test at the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility on Aug. 30. The proof test article will be used for ground and flight evaluations, which will correlate test data with analytical models to validate Orion's flight design engineering. Lockheed Martin is outfitting the test unit with its final configuration of interior and exterior mass and volume simulators. Around December the Orion will be delivered to the company’s Denver, Colo., facility for performance testing in an acoustic chamber. (Source: Aviation Week, 09/10/10)

Contract: Raytheon, $25.8M

Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, Ariz., was awarded a $25,778,000 contract modification which will procure Radome Phase II Advanced medium range air to air missile. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. 695 ARSS/PK, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/10/10)

Contract: Rehabilitation Svc., $8M

Rehabilitation Services Mississippi, Madison, Miss., was awarded a $7,986,886 contract modification which will procure full food services at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., with a period of performance of Oct. 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. 81 CONS, Keesler Air Force Base, is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/10/10)

Contract: Raytheon, $6.9M

Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, Ariz., was awarded a $6,938,105 contract modification which will procure the study for the replacement for the Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile (AMRAAM) transponder module used in the AMRAAM telemetry section. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. AAC/EBAK, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/10/10)

L-3 keeps door open on tanker work

L-3 Communications is open to joining the rematch to build aerial tankers for the Air Force, despite halting talks in April with EADS. Chief Executive Michael Strianese said conditions had not been right at that time. "The door is still open if EADS wants to talk in the future, or Boeing for that matter," Strianese told the Reuters Aerospace and Defense Summit in Washington on Thursday. (Source: Reuters, 09/10/10) Gulf Coast note: EADS and Boeing are competing to build the planes in a contract worth $40 billion. An award is expected in the fall. EADS wants to assemble the planes in Mobile, Ala.

SLAMRAAM test successful

Raytheon's Surface Launched Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile system (SLAMRAAM) successfully participated in a ballistic test vehicle firing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The test included the firing of multiple AMRAAM missiles from the new family of medium tactical vehicle platform. The new platform provides additional armored capability and is more ruggedized to support the SLAMRAAM mission. (Source: Raytheon via PRNewswire, 09/09/10)

Army eyeing missile test site

Plaquemines Parish, La., officials say the Army is considering building a missile test site at Port Eads. The Army told parish officials that it needs a site from which to launch missiles over the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico for target practice. In a statement, the Army Space and Missile Defense Command in Huntsville, Ala., said it received money for a feasibility study "to consider locations within the Gulf Coast region as potential sites for test and evaluation assets." The Air Force already operates aerial combat ranges in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, including live-fire ranges off the Panhandle involving air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles. (Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune, 09/08/10)

New tower topped off

GULFPORT, Miss. - The new Federal Aviation Administration control tower at Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport was topped off Wednesday with a 50-foot-tall metal superstructure. That along with the existing concrete structure creates a 148-foot-tall tower that will replace the existing 90-foot-tall tower built in the 1970s. Construction is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2011. (Source: Sun Herald, 09/08/10)

Tanker award date slipping?

The target date to award the U.S. Air Force tanker contract may be slipping, according to military officials. An Air Force spokesman said the decision will be announced in the fall, and possibly as late as Dec. 20. The Air Force previously said it expected to announce a winner by mid-November. Boeing and EADS are competing for the contract. EADS plans to assemble its tankers in Mobile, Ala. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 09/08/10)

Boeing gets AC-130U support contract

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. - Boeing has received a contract from the U.S. Air Force to provide spare servo-actuators for the AC-130U gunship. The five-year contract, which includes a base year plus four out-year ordering periods, is worth up to $7.2 million. A total of $1.2 million of the first phase has been obligated. Between now and July 2011, Boeing will provide 10 servo-actuators for the Trainable Gun Mount Systems needed to install 40-millimeter guns on four AC-130Us. The work will be performed by Boeing teams in Fort Walton Beach. (Source: Boeing, 09/02/10)

Northrop begins BAMS production

MOSS POINT, Miss. - Northrop Grumman has begun work on the first MQ-4 Broad Area Maritime Surveillance drone at the company's Moss Point facility. The Global Hawk BAMS aircraft is the first of about 40 of the high-altitude spy drones that will serve the Navy. It's designed to work with the Navy's new P-8 maritime patrol planes. The BAMS UAV is a multi-mission maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance system that will support a variety of missions while operating independently or in direct collaboration with fleet assets. The Air Force version of the Global Hawk is the RQ-4. The Unmanned Systems Center at Moss Point does fuselage work on the Global Hawk. (Source: Defense News, Globe Newswire, 09/01/10)