RR gets Navy trainer support contract

Rolls-Royce was awarded an $89 million contract by the Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River, Md., to provide support for the F405 (Adour) engines that power the Navy’s T-45 training aircraft. The modification exercises the second option, which includes support ranging from on-wing through intermediate and depot level maintenance. The contract provides services to more than 200 aircraft operating at Naval Air Station Kingsville, Texas, Naval Air Station Meridian, Miss., Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., and Naval Air Station Patuxent River. (Source: Rolls-Royce, 12/16/10)

Hawker Beechcraft to stay put

Hawker Beechcraft will be remaining in Kansas rather than moving to Louisiana after accepting a $45 million incentives package from the state, city and county. The deal requires Hawker to maintain its current product lines, which includes propeller planes and jets, along with 4,000 jobs in Wichita over the next 10 years. (Source: Wichita Eagle, KansasReporter, 12/21/10)

Contract: Universal Technology, $9.9M

Universal Technology Corp., Dayton, Ohio, was awarded a $9,949,502 contract which will provide research and development of on-site support in the Airbase Sciences Branch at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. At this time, $462,740 has been obligated. 325 Contracting Squadron, Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 12/21/10)

AirTran leaving Gulfport

GULFPORT, Miss. – AirTran next year will stop serving Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport, the company announced. The service ends March 6, according to an AirTran spokesman. The airline offers flights from Gulfport to Atlanta and Tampa three times a week. Jeremiah Gerald, director of air service and business development at the airport, said there are a couple of prospects looking to step in and fill the void that AirTran will leave. Airport officials are looking forward to announcing a new carrier in the next few weeks, Gerald said. (Source: Sun Herald, 12/20/10)

Week in review column

Another test firing of the AJ26 rocket engine in Mississippi, the sale of a Mobile, Ala., aerospace company to the Chinese, a name change at a major aerospace parks and a controversy over the success of a new airport were some of the Gulf Coast aerospace stories during the past week. (Source: Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor, 12/18/10)

ST Aerospace picked to convert planes

MOBILE, Ala. - North American Airlines, which operates charter airplanes for the U.S. military and others, said Friday it had signed a letter of intent with the U.S. holding company for Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd., to convert 757s to carry 45 passengers and 10 cargo pallets. Holding company Vision Technologies Systems said that there isn't a number of planes or an agreed price for the work yet, but any work would be done in Mobile by ST Aerospace Mobile. The company has 1,200 employees at the Brookley Aeroplex. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 12/17/10)

Euro Hawk passes endurance test

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - Euro Hawk, version of Northrop Grumman's Global Hawk unmanned aerial system built for the German air force, passed an endurance milestone with a 30.3-hour flight. Northrop Grumman is partnered with EADS Deutschland GmbH, operating through Cassidian, the defense and security division of EADS. The test was Dec. 1 and 2, and the Euro Hawk flew at 60,000 feet. It has logged nearly 100 total flight hours since its maiden flight five months ago. (Source: Northrop Grumman via Globe Newswire, 12/17/10) Gulf Coast note: Northrop Grumman's Unmanned Systems Center in Moss Point, Miss., did fuselage work on the Euro Hawk.

AJ26 performs second test fire

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - NASA conducted a 55-second test fire Friday of the liquid-fuel AJ26 engine that will power the first stage of Orbital Sciences' Taurus II space launch vehicle. Taurus II uses a pair Aerojet AJ26 rocket engines to provide first stage propulsion. The test on the E-1 test stand involved a team of Orbital, Aerojet, and Stennis. The test was the second in a series of verification tests. A third hot-fire test also is planned to verify tuning of engine control valves. The AJ26 engine is designed to power the Taurus II space vehicle on flights to low Earth orbit. NASA's partnership with Orbital was formed under the agency's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services joint research and development project to enable commercial cargo flights to the International Space Station. The company is under contract with NASA to provide eight cargo missions to the space station through 2015. (Sources: PRNewswire, NASA, 12/17/10)

Contract: All Native, $22.7M

All Native Service Co., Bellevue, Neb., is being awarded a $22,741,962 contract for technology advancement support services to the Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate at Fort Belvoir, Va. This effort provides the Army and Department of Defense with technology solutions for night vision and electronic sensors and sensor suites for target acquisition, engagement and defeat of enemy forces day or night, and under all battlefield and weather conditions. Eleven percent of the work will be done at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 12/16/10)

Contract: CC Distributors, $9M

CC Distributors, Corpus Christi, Texas, was awarded a $9,000,000 contract to provide for authorized civil engineer personnel and self-help customers to purchase materials, equipment and supplies including but not limited to electrical, plumbing, sheet metal, welding, landscaping, heating/air conditioning. AAAC/PKOB, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 12/16/10)

Mobile complex changes name

MOBILE, Ala. - The Brookley Industrial Complex has changed its name to Brookley Aeroplex. Bill Sisson, the executive director of the Mobile Airport Authority, said the Brookley name was retained as a reminder of the former Air Force base that was closed in the 1960s. Aeroplex was used because it's a multi-modal operation. The complex is also called the downtown airport. (Source: Mobile Airport Authority, 12/17/10) Note: Brookley is where EADS wants to assemble tankers for the Air Force if it wins a contest against Boeing.

Inaugural flight set for Friday

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. - Northwest Florida Regional Airport's newest airline will begin offering service Friday. Vision Airlines will offer direct flights to and from New York’s Niagara Falls International Airport and Miami International Airport on Fridays and Sundays. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 12/15/10)

Study: Airport impact is $292M

GULFPORT, Miss. – The total economic impact of Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport in 2009 was $291.7 million, according to the report released Wednesday. The impact is a combination of the direct impact from commercial and military flights, the indirect impact that comes from the money spent in the local economy by tourists and other passengers and the induced impact from airport employees and suppliers who use wages to buy local goods and services. A traffic leakage report shows the airport drawing passengers from Mobile, Ala., and Hattiesburg. (Source: Sun Herald, 12/16/10)

Fire Scout OKd for unrestricted flights

In preparation for deployment early next year, Northrop Grumman and the Navy verified that the MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned helicopter is functionally compatible with communications systems on board the USS Halyburton. Known as integration verification, this process cleared the way for Fire Scout to conduct bluewater, unrestricted, operations from the Halyburton. In April 2010, Fire Scout concluded a military utility assessment on board the USS McInerney, a frigate similar to the Halyburton. While the Navy's new Littoral Combat Ships are Fire Scout's intended home, the system is being integrated with other ships to expand its utility. (Source: Northrop Grumman, 12/14/10) Gulf Coast note: Fire Scouts are built in part in Moss Point, Miss.

F-35 training center hosts visitors

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - Okaloosa County commissioners were the newest visitors to get a preview of nation's first military Joint Strike Fighter integrated training center at the 33rd Fighter Wing's campus Dec. 14. Since the wing transitioned from its combat heritage to Air Education and Training Command, many visitors have asked to get a glimpse into the future DoD aviation and all things related to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter from ground operations, to generating sorties to certifying pilots for flight. (Source: Team Eglin Public Affairs, 12/14/10)

Contract: EADS, $9.9M

EADS North American Defense, Arlington, Va., was awarded a $9,895,928 firm-fixed-price contract to provide for the retrofitting 28 ARC-231 airborne communication systems. Work will be completed in Columbus, Miss., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2011. The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 12/15/10)

Contract: Broadmoor, $20.3M

Broadmoor Pittman, JV, Metairie, La., was awarded a $20,340,000 firm-fixed-price contract to provide for the construction of Building 449 redundant pump station at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility at New Orleans. Work will be complete in New Orleans with an estimated completion date of Dec. 19, 2012. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, Mobile, Ala., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 12/15/10)

Contract: Signal/Keltec, $14.2M

Signal Technology Corp., Keltec Operations, Fort Walton Beach, Fla., is being awarded a maximum $14,238,144 firm-fixed-price, sole-source contract for high voltage modules. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Navy. The date of performance completion is June 2013. The Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 12/15/10)

Contract: Jacobs, $10M

Jacobs Technology Inc., Fort Walton Beach, Fla., is being awarded $10,028,003 under previously awarded contract to provide technical support to the Marine Corps Systems Command, Information Systems and Infrastructure Product Group, Marine Corps Network and Infrastructure Services Program Office. Work will be performed in Quantico, Va., and is expected to be completed in December 2011. The Marine Corps System Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 12/14/10)

Fire-X has first flight

The unmanned Northrop Grumman/Bell Helicopter Fire-X demonstrator had its first flight Dec. 10 in Yuma, Ariz., according to the program team. Fire-X is designed to compete in the potentially lucrative market for unmanned rotorcraft to move cargo or gather intelligence. The aircraft, which retains the ability to be piloted, was ferried to Yuma from Bell's Xworx facility in Arlington, Texas. Fire-X, built on the commercial Bell 407 platform, was modified at Xworx with computers, actuators and other systems from Northrop's MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned helicopter. (Source: Aviation Week, 12/14/10) Gulf Coast note: Fire Scouts are built in part in Moss Point, Miss.