Marines may get more time for F-35

The defense secretary will recommend giving the Marines two additional years to develop its version of the F-35 to correct technical and manufacturing glitches. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told General James Amos, the Marine Corps commandant, of the decision in a Dec. 3 meeting, according to officials who asked not to be identified. The president’s debt commission has proposed terminating the Marine Corps version to save money. (Source: Bloomberg, 12/07/10) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is scheduled to become home of the JSF training center.

EADS soliciting bids for Mobile center

MOBILE, Ala. - EADS North America on Wednesday said it's soliciting bids through its program management firm for design and construction of the Mobile Conversion Center where KC-45 aerial refueling tanker aircraft will be militarized for the Air Force. The conversion center is part of an aircraft production facility that EADS North America will construct in Mobile if it wins the tanker contest against rival Boeing. The KC-45 will create more than 1,500 direct positions in Mobile. EADS North America has also committed to build commercial A330 freighter aircraft at the same site. Earlier this year, the company began its transfer of the KC-45 program management team, nearly 200 employees, to new offices in Mobile. (Source: EADS North America, 12/08/10)

PW completes key J-2X assembly

CANOGA PARK, Calif. - Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne successfully completed assembly of the oxidizer turbopump on NASA's J-2X rocket engine, moving the next-generation, human-rated rocket engine a step closer to testing at Stennis Space Center, Miss., in 2011. The oxidizer turbopump delivers high pressure liquid oxygen to the engine's main injector, pumping more than 80 percent of the propellant consumed by the engine. It's driven by a turbine that uses the products of the gas generator after it has driven the engine's fuel turbopump. The J-2X engine was developed with heavy-lift capabilities in mind, and could play an important role as a powerful upper-stage engine for future missions to low-Earth orbit, Mars or an asteroid. (Source: PRNewswire, 12/07/10)

Analyst: EADS will win tanker

EADS will beat Boeing in the competition to build tankers for the Air Force, according to a defense analyst who's been a Boeing advocate. The Mobile Press-Register reports that Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute in Arlington, Va., said Boeing executives concluded EADS is ahead after getting a look at the Air Force's internal analysis of the two competing bids. The Air Force expects to announce a winner for the $40 billion competition early next year. If it wins, EADS plans to assemble the planes in Mobile, Ala. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 12/06/10; Follow-up reports appeared in the Seattle Times and Seattle PI)

Week in review column

Another delay in the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery, the F-35 cost controversy, a new Boeing operation in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., praise for the Fire Scout unmanned helicopter and a secret Air Force unmanned space vehicle were just some of the aerospace news items of interest to the Gulf Coast region during the week. (Source: Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor, 12/04/10)

X-37B lands after 7 months

An unmanned spacecraft, the X-37B, landed early Friday after more than 7 months in orbit. The winged autonomous vehicle, built by Boeing originally for NASA before it became an Air Force project, landed at California's Vandenberg Air Force Base. It launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on April 22. While it looks like the Space Shuttle, it's much smaller and can be launched from atop a Delta V rocket. (Sources: AP via Times-Picayune, Wired, 12/03/10) Gulf Coast note: The Gulf Coast region has interests in unmanned systems and space-related activities.

Contract: Northrop Grumman, $9.5M

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Melbourne, Fla., is being awarded a $9,500,000 modification to previously awarded contract for continued post-delivery technical support for Rapid Airborne Mine Clearance System units, a helicopter-mounted anti-mine system. This contract will be used to modify and/or repair delivered hardware; modify or build new RAMICS system components; provide maintenance of delivered hardware and more. The system is deployed from surface ships and aircraft carriers in a carrier strike group or amphibious strike group. Work will be performed in Melbourne and is expected to be completed by September 2011. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Panama City, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 12/02/10)

Admiral: Fire Scout a game-changer

PATUXENT RIVER, Md. - During the course of one day last month, the Navy's Fire Scout unmanned helicopter operated in four different locations across the United States and took off for the first time from a Littoral Combat Ship, USS Freedom. The Navy and industry partner Northrop Grumman tested the aircraft at Webster Field, Md., Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz., aboard the USS Halyburton (FFG-40) off the coast of Jacksonville, Fla., and USS Freedom (LCS-1) at the sea range in Point Mugu, Calif. "Flying in four locations in one day, off two classes of ships … marks a major milestone for our program and for naval aviation,” said Rear Adm. Bill Shannon, Program Executive Officer for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons. He said it "sets the stage for the introduction of a game-changing capability to our warfighters." Fire Scout has surpassed more than 1,000 flight hours since the test program began in December 2006. (Source: NAVAIR, 12/01/10) Gulf Coast note: Fire Scouts are built in part in Moss Point, Miss.; Austal USA in Mobile, Ala., builds a version of the LCS.

AF tries to fix tanker foul-up

When the Air Force mistakenly sent data to Boeing that was intended for EADS and vice versa, Boeing didn't open the computer files but EADS did. To rectify that situation, the Air Force took the unusual step of deliberately re-sending the data to ensure neither could claim bias. The odd step was taken to ensure a level playing field, according to an Air Force spokesman. (Sources: Seattle Times, New York Times, 11/30/10) Gulf Coast note: EADS North America hopes to assemble the planes in Mobile, Ala., if it wins the $40 billion competition.

Boeing shifting some jobs to FWB

Boeing's Defense, Space and Security division plans to open a technical publication organization in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., and move jobs to the new location, according to the Wichita Eagle. It's not yet known how the change will impact the 700 employees who work in technical publications for Boeing's defense business, including 150 who work in Wichita, said Boeing Wichita spokesman Jarrod Bartlett. Decisions will be finalized next year with the site scheduled to open in 2012, he said. (Source: Wichita Eagle, 12/01/10)

Eglin team wins AFRL challenge

HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – An Eglin Air Force Base team emerged victorious in the 2010 Air Force Research Laboratory Commander's Challenge, a competition where each team designs, develops and demonstrates a solution to an urgent warfighter need. The challenge for this year's competition involved developing a perimeter surveillance and detection system for a forward operating base and combat outposts, primarily in the Afghanistan theatre of operations. Both teams had a limited time and budget to produce a system that could be transitioned to the warfighter with very little follow-on effort. (Source: 66th Air Base Group Public Affairs, 11/29/10)

Aurora rolls out Orion UAV in Mississippi

Aurora Flight Sciences of Manassas, Va., rolled out the first of three planned Orion five-day-endurance unmanned aircraft demonstrators at its Columbus, Miss., plant Nov. 22. That's barely three months after being picked by the Air Force Research Laboratory for the first phase of the Medium-Altitude Global ISR and Communications (Magic) program. Aurora is in talks with potential system integrators to help put Orion into production if a U.S. Air Force-funded technology demonstration proves successful. Orion is designed to fly for 120 hours at 20,000 feet with a 1,000-pound multi-sensor payload. This compares with 24 hours for the MQ-1B Predator and its 450-pound payload. Sens. Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker attended the roll-out ceremony. (Sources: Aurora Flight Sciences, 11/22/10; Aviation Week, 11/26/10)

1,000th P5 pod delivered

DRS Training and Combat Control Systems of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., a business unit of DRS Defense Solutions of Bethesda, Md., has delivered its 1,000th airborne pod for the P5 Combat Training System/Tactical Combat Training System. The P5 CTS/TCTS allows the Navy, Marines, and Air Force and allies to train together using a common air combat training platform. Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., awarded the prime contract in 2003 to Cubic Defense Applications of San Diego, Calif., with DRS TCS as a principal contractor. DRS has received orders of more than $210 million for P5 pods. (Source: DRS, 11/22/10)

Two canned in tanker blunder

The Air Force said Tuesday that it fired two officials over the accidental release of bidding details to competitors for the aerial refueling tanker contract. Gen. Norton Schwartz dismissed initial reports that the release included confidential pricing information. Boeing is competing against EADS North America for the $40 billion aerial tanker contract. EADS wants to assemble the planes in Mobile, Ala. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 11/23/10)

Airport: Feelings split on scanners

GULFPORT, Miss. - Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport gets as many comments from people who say they appreciate the enhanced safety of full body scanners as they do from those who feel it's intrusive, said Jeremiah Gerald, director of air service and business development. Air travelers at some U.S. airports are upset they must pass through full-body scannners or submit to a pat down. (Source: Sun Herald, 11/22/10) California-based Rapiscan is one of two companies making the scanners. Rapiscan has a production facility in Ocean Springs, Miss.

Goodrich ships XWB thrust reverser

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Goodrich Corp. has delivered its first thrust reversers for the Airbus A350 XWB twinjet. The thrust reversers will be installed on a Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engine to be used in the engine ground test program, scheduled to begin later this year. Goodrich shipped the thrust reversers from its facility in Chula Vista, Calif., which was also the site of final assembly. The reversers will be sent to the Rolls-Royce facility in Derby, England, for initial testing before being shipped to a Rolls-Royce ground testing site at John C. Stennis Space Center, Miss. (Source: Goodrich, 11/23/10) Goodrich's Alabama Service Center is located in Foley, Ala.

EADS, Airbus to open sourcing office

EADS North America and Airbus Americas will open a joint U.S. Sourcing Office at Airbus Americas' headquarters in Herndon, Va., in January 2011. EADS and Airbus have spent over $11 billion annually in the U.S. and support more than 200,000 American jobs. Airbus procurement from U.S.- based suppliers represents over 40 percent of its total global aircraft-related purchases. The office will be responsible for mapping out a U.S. sourcing strategy and implementing an active procurement marketing effort. The office is part of the Global Sourcing Network, an EADS-wide organization dedicated to promote the globalization of the EADS procurement activities. It has offices in China and India. (Source: EADS North America, 11/19/10) Gulf Coast note: EADS and Airbus have operations in Mobile, Ala., where EADS also hopes to assemble tankers for the Air Force if it wins a multibillion-dollar contract; EADS has a helicopter production facility in Columbus, Miss.

Contract: Lockheed Martin, $3.5M

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $3,485,385,767 modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee contract that converts contract type from a cost-plus-incentive-fee to a fixed-price-incentive for the manufacture and delivery of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter low rate initial production Lot 4 aircraft. It provides for procurement of 10 conventional take-off and landing aircraft for the U.S. Air Force, 16 short take-off vertical landing aircraft (STOVL) for the U.S. Marine Corps; 1 STOVL for the United Kingdom Royal Navy; and four carrier variant aircraft for the U.S. Navy. The modification provides for the procurement of associated ancillary mission equipment, flight test instrumentation, and manufacturing support equipment. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in March 2013. This modification combines purchases for the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy and the United Kingdom. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 11/19/10) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is scheduled to be home of the F-35 training center.

AF sent info to wrong tanker rivals

The Air Force earlier this month sent letters to rival planemakers about their bids for the multibillion-dollar tanker contest - but delivered its technical assessment of Boeing's bid to EADS and vice versa. Air Force spokesman Col. Les Kodlick said the service is analyzing the information that was inadvertently disclosed and has taken steps to ensure that both competitors have had equal access to the same information. The service is trying to find out how the mistake happened to ensure it's not repeated. The Air Force expects to award the contract early next year. (Source: Defense News, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, HeraldNet, Mobile Press-Register, 11/19/10) Gulf Coast note: If EADS wins, the company plans to assemble the tankers in Mobile, Ala.

Contract: Bell-Boeing, $10M

Bell-Boeing Joint Project Office, Amarillo, Texas, is being awarded a $10,085,840 firm-fixed-price delivery order against a previously issued basic ordering agreement for non-recurring efforts required to complete the fuel jettison mission management restriction removal engineering change proposal (ECP) for the Air Force CV-22. This ECP will remove the fuel jettison restriction allowing the aircrew to rapidly manage CV-22 aircraft mission gross weight. Two percent of the work will be done in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. Other work sites are Ridley Park, Pa., Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, and St. Louis, Mo. Work is expected to be completed in August 2013. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 11/19/10)