Contract: L-3 Vertex, $91M

L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace LLC, Madison, Miss., was awarded a $90,996,144 contract which will exercise fiscal 2010 options for logistics support of the T-1A aircraft at Vance, Columbus Randolph, and Laughlin Air Force Bases and Pensacola Naval Air Station. OC-ALC/GKSKA, Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 10/04/10)

Japan considers buying Global Hawks

Japan is considering buying three Northrop Grumman Global Hawks to help monitor China and North Korea, according to Kyodo News, citing sources in the Defense Ministry and Self-Defense Forces. The unmanned high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft can fly at altitudes of 60,000 feet for more than 30 hours. Although the ministry has been conducting basic research on unmanned surveillance aircraft since fiscal 2003, Japan is now tilted toward first importing the Global Hawk. (Source: AFP, Kyodo News via Japan Times, 10/04/10) Gulf Coast note: Global Hawks are built in part in Moss Point, Miss.

Feature: Eglin's future

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - Eglin Air Force Base remains one of the busiest in the Department of Defense. Tenants include the 46th Test Wing, Special Operations headquarters, and the country's only special operations reserve unit. It's also home of the Joint Strike Fighter training school and the Army 7th Special Forces, as well as the Air Armament Center, which develops aerial weaponry. A feature story about the northwest Florida base and its future. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 10/02/10)

Groups eye airline travel bank

GULFPORT, Miss. - Businesses and individuals are being asked to pledge support to keep AirTran flying and increase service at Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport. The Mississippi Gulf Coast Business Council and Chamber of Commerce are making the request and have been working for months to establish an Airline Travel Bank, said Jack Norris, president of the business council. He said the announcement that Southwest wants to buy AirTran accelerated the need for the program. The two groups are asking for non-binding pledges to gauge interest in an air bank, said Norris. (Source: Mississippi Press, 10/02/10)

Next chief of AAC announced

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - Maj. Gen. Kenneth Merchant is scheduled to be the next Air Armament Center and Air Force program executive officer for weapons. Merchant will arrive from Headquarters Air Mobility Command, Scott Air Force Base, Ill., where he's director of logistics. Two of his previous assignments were at Eglin. Maj. Gen. C. R. Davis, program executive officer for weapons and Air Armament Center commander, was nominated for appointment to lieutenant general. Once confirmed, he'll be reassigned to Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass. (Source: Eglin Public Affairs, 09/30/10)

Congress settles on NASA future

Congress approved a plan for NASA that extends the space shuttle program for a year and backs the president's plan to use commercial carriers for transporting humans into near-Earth space. The bill, passed by the House this week and by the Senate lasts month, ends the Constellation Program, which sought to return astronauts to the moon, and extends the life of the International Space Station to 2020. At Stennis Space Center, Miss., where propulsion systems are tested and certified, center director Patrick Scheuermann said he's confident Stennis will be fully utilized for future space exploration. (Source: Multiple, including AP via the Sun Herald, WLOX-TV, 09/30/10)

300 laid off at Michoud

NEW ORLEANS - About 300 workers were laid off at the Michoud Assembly Facility yesterday as production of the space shuttle external fuel tank came to an end. Lockheed Martin had about 1,500 people at the facility at the start of the year, but the number has slowly dropped as various stages of the external fuel tank production have ended. It’s down to about 600. (Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune, 09/30/10)

First flight of MK-84 successful

Boeing successfully completed the first flight tests of the MK-84 Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The first two of seven planned tests at Eglin demonstrated the 2,000-pound weapon's capability against fixed, relocatable and moving targets. During the tests in July, two inert MK-84 Laser JDAM weapons were released from an F-16 flying at 30,000 feet. Both weapons flew a series of preprogrammed maneuvers to verify maneuverability and aerodynamic performance. An existing JDAM becomes a Laser JDAM with the installation of the Precision Laser Guidance Set. (Source: Boeing, 09/28/10)

Contract: Mississippi Aerospace, $8.6M

Mississippi Aerospace Corp., Picayune, Miss., was awarded an $8,642,054 contract which will acquire loadmaster scanner crashworthy seats for the Air Force Special Operations Command MC-130H/W and EC 130J aircraft, and Air Combat Command and Air Force Reserve Command HC-130P aircraft. WR-ALC/GRUK, Special Forces Contracting Division, Robins Air Force Base, Ga., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/30/10)

Contract: Northrop Grumman, $99M

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Aerospace Battle Management and Engagement Systems Decision Support and Targeting, Hollywood, Md., was awarded a $99,000,000 contract which will procure weapons planning software. At this time, $1,000,000 has been obligated. AAC/EBSK, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/29/10)

Contract: Kaman, $36M

Kaman Precision Products Inc., Orlando, Fla., was awarded a $35,985,342 contract modification which will procure joint programmable fuze systems for four Foreign Military Sales countries at a total quantity of 10,518 units. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. AAC/EBDK, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/29/10)

Contract: Sikorsky, $63.5M

Sikorsky Support Services Inc., Pensacola, Fla., is being awarded a $63,500,000 modification to a previously awarded contract to exercise an option for contractor logistics support services for the T-34, T-44 and T-6 aircraft. Work will be performed at the Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Fla. (43 percent); NAS Corpus Christi, Texas (29 percent); NAS Pensacola, Fla. (10 percent); NAS Oceana, Va. (2 percent); NAS Lemoore, Calif. (1 percent); Marine Corps Air Station, Miramar, Calif. (1 percent); Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Md. (.79 percent); Naval Air Facility, El Centro, Calif. (.1 percent); and Redstone Army Airfield, Huntsville, Ala. (1 percent). Work is expected to be completed in March 2011. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/29/10)

NASA picks NRL imager

WASHINGTON - NASA has chosen the Naval Research Laboratory's Wide-field Imager to be part of the Solar Probe Plus mission set for launch no later than 2018. The Solar Probe Plus, a car-sized spacecraft, will plunge directly into the sun's atmosphere about four million miles from our star's surface. It will explore a region no other spacecraft ever has encountered in an effort to unlock the sun's biggest mysteries. (Source: NRL, 09/27/10) Gulf Coast note: NASA has activities at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans and John C. Stennis Space Center, Miss. The NRL also has a detachment at Stennis Space Center.

AFRL has new chief scientist

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - Dr. Mikel Miller was recently promoted to chief scientist and senior technologist for the Air Force Research Lab Munitions Directorate. Miller is a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who served for 30 years on active duty. In his new position, he will help lead the AFRL Munitions Directorate to the next generation of munitions systems. Among his goals: Boost the number of AFRL scientists who have doctorate degrees from the current 17 percent to 30 to 35 percent by hiring new scientists and through internal academic growth. Another goal is to grow AFRL's future workforce through educational partnerships. (Source: Eglin Public Affairs, 09/27/10)

Avalex moving to Gulf Breeze

PENSACOLA, Fla. - Avalex Technologies, which makes aerial surveillance equipment, is moving its headquarters from Pensacola to nearby Gulf Breeze. The 9.2-acre property is the former home of car dealer World Ford. The new building will be some 53,000 square feet with room for more buildings. The two downtown Pensacola buildings had 17,000 square feet. Avalex equipment is designed for law enforcement and the military, and includes flat panel displays, digital mapping systems and sensor pointing systems. (Source: Pensacola News Journal, 09/29/10)

Contract: Raytheon, $10.2M

Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, Ariz., was awarded a $10,223,663 contract modification which will extend the period of performance of the Advanced Medium Range Air-to Air Missile (AMRAAM) aircraft integration support effort through Sept. 30, 2013. At this time, $1,815,268 has been obligated. AAC/EBAK (AMRAAM Development Branch), Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/28/10)

Contract: L-3 Vertex, $18.5M

L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace LLC, Madison, Miss., is being awarded an $18,530,000 modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery requirements contract to exercise an option for logistics support for TH-57B/TH-57C aircraft. Work will be performed at Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Milton, Fla. (99 percent), and NAS Patuxent River, Md. (1 percent). Work is expected to be completed in March 2011. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/28/10)

Contract: Rolls-Royce, $89.1M

Rolls-Royce Defense Services Inc., Indianapolis, Ind., is being awarded an $89,119,156 modification to a previously awarded contract to exercise an option for intermediate and depot level maintenance and related support for in-service T-45 F405-RR-401 Adour engines under the power-by-the-hour arrangement. In addition, this modification provides for inventory control, sustaining engineering and configuration management, as well as integrated logistics support and required engineering elements necessary to support the F405-RR-401 engine at the organization level. Work will be performed at the Naval Air Station Kingsville, Texas (54 percent), NAS Meridian, Miss. (41 percent); NAS Pensacola, Fla. (4 percent), and NAS Patuxent River, Md. (1 percent) and is expected to be completed in September 2011. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/27/10)

Contract: L-3 Vertex, $125M

L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace LLC, Madison, Miss., is being awarded a $125,000,000 modification to a previously awarded contract to exercise an option for logistics services and materials for organizational, intermediate, and depot level maintenance required to support 47 T-45A and 158 T-45C aircraft based at Naval Air Station Meridian, Miss.; NAS Kingsville, Texas; NAS Pensacola, Fla., and Patuxent River, Md. This requirement also includes the organizational level maintenance for the engine. Work will be performed in Kingsville, Texas (54 percent); Meridian, Miss. (41 percent); Pensacola, Fla. (4 percent); and Patuxen River (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in September 2011. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md. is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/27/10)

Southwest to buy AirTran

Southwest Airlines is buying AirTran for about $1.4 billion. The companies said Monday that the new Southwest-Airtran operation would operate from more than 100 different airports and serve more than 100 million customers. In the Gulf Coast region, AirTran serves the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport, New Orleans and Pensacola. Southwest Airlines serves New Orleans and Panama City Beach, Fla. (Sources: Multiple, including AP via Sun Herald, Forbes, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 09/27/10)