AF to become landlord

Under an "enhanced lease program" designed to let the Air Force collect rent on an under-used portion of beachfront land, the military next year will become landlord of a hotel, according to the Northwest Florida Daily News. "This will be a new way of doing business for us," said Glenn Wagner, manager of Eglin Air Force Base's enhanced lease program. The $24 million hotel near Sheraton Four Points will be owned by the Department of Defense and managed by Emerald Breeze Resort Group. Eglin's 46th Test Wing will be able to place a telemetric receiving dish and optical equipment on the top of the building so it can "see" further out into the Gulf of Mexico. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 10/23/11)

Fifth F-35 now at Eglin

A fifth F-35 Joint Strike Fighter arrived at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., during the week. The aircraft took off from Fort Worth, Texas, for the 90-minute flight for delivery to the 33rd Fighter Wing. The conventional variant of the fighter will be used for pilot and maintainer training at the base’s F-35 Integrated Training Center, where pilots from all the branches and foreign nations will receive initial training. (Source: Second Line of Defense, Lockheed Martin,10/20/11)

Contract: Jacobs Technology, $135.5M

Jacobs Technology Inc., Tullahoma, Tenn., is being awarded an estimated $135,500,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the Technical and Engineering Acquisition Support Program, providing a wide range of diverse, high-quality engineering, technical, and acquisition support required for development, production, and sustainment of various highly complex munitions systems within the Air Armament Center and other organizations at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. This effort supports Foreign Military Sales programs to Australia, India, Turkey, Greece, Republic of Korea, Taiwan, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Germany, France, Poland, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Chili, Malaysia, and Singapore (2.7 percent). Air Armament Center/PKES, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 10/20/11)

SSMEs bound for SSC

All fifteen Space Shuttle Main Engines are together inside NASA's Engine Shop at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., and are being prepped for shipment to Stennis Space Center, Miss. At SSC, they'll become part of the propulsion used on NASA's next generation heavy-lift rocket: the Space Launch System. The engines are built by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, and each is 14 feet long and more than 7 feet in diameter at the end of its nozzle. (Source: Universe Today, 10/19/11) In addition to testing the SLS engines at SSC, NASA will have portions of the SLS fabricated at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. (Previous story)

LM center officially opens

CLINTON, Miss. - Lockheed Martin held a ceremonial opening Wednesday for its new 33,000 square-foot technology support center at South Pointe Business Park. Lockheed Martin announced in April that it planned to create 350 new jobs at the center in Clinton, Miss. The mission support center will serve several of Lockheed Martin’s federal customers. The center is in part of the former corporate headquarters of WorldCom, the telecommunications company that went bankrupt in 2002. (Source: multiple, including Clarion-Ledger, WJTV, 10/19/11) Previous story. Gulf Coast note: Lockheed Martin assembles satellite components at Stennis Space Center.

Keesler in running for award

BILOXI, Miss. - The Texas-based Air Education and Training Command selected Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., as its nominee for the Air Force 2011 Commander-in-Chief's Installation Excellence Award. The winner, chosen in January, will get a $1 million prize and the runner-up $500,000 for quality of life improvements. The base will competed against the nominees from nine other major commands for the Air Force level award. Each finalist base will be visited by an inspection team next year. (Source: Sun Herald, Keesler Air Force Base, 10/17/11) Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the nominee from the Air Force Material Command. (Story)

Helos gather for fleet fly-in

MILTON, Fla. - Two dozen helicopters are coming to Naval Air Station Whiting Field this week for the base’s annual Naval Helicopter Association Fleet Fly-in. The event is designed to let student aviators learn about potential career paths. Among the helicopters will be the H-53 Sea Stallion, H-60 Seahawk, MH-60S Knighthawk and more. The event is not open to the public. (Source: Pensacola News Journal, 10/17/11)

Eglin gets F-35 weapons load trainer

Lockheed Martin delivered and installed the first weapons load training device at the F-35 Integrated Pilot-and-Maintenance Training Center (ITC) at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Configured in all three variants of the F-35, the system allows maintenance students to hone their skills loading munitions, fuel tanks and missile systems onto the aircraft. The simulators enable training to take place without removing aircraft from the flight schedule. Earlier this year the first two F-35 full mission simulators were installed. The ITC at Eglin will be home to the latest courseware, electronic classrooms, simulators and flight events. (Source: Lockheed Martin via PRNewswire, 10/17/11)

NG pulls out of Farnborough

In a move that underscores tight budgets, aerospace powerhouse Northrop Grumman Corp. had decided not to participate in the 2012 international air show in Farnborough, England, according to Reuters. Northrop spokesman Randy Belote said pulling out completely will save millions of dollars. (Source: Reuters, 10/15/11) Gulf Coast note: Northrop Grumman's Unmanned Systems Center in Moss Point, Miss., builds portions of the Global Hawk and Fire Scout unmanned systems.

New Orleans OKd for Cuba service

NEW ORLEANS – Louis Armstrong International Airport was approved to join a select group of U.S. airports that can fly to and from Cuba. The U.S. government has loosened restrictions, allowing New Orleans and other international airports in the United States to apply to host flights. New Orleans and seven other airports were approved. Travel is restricted to those with close relatives in Cuba, or those involved in the medical or agricultural business sectors. Travel for educational or religious activities is also permitted. The longstanding U.S.-imposed trade embargo and travel restrictions were designed to pressure the communist nation to move toward democracy. (Sources: CNN, 10/12/11, Times-Picayune, 10/13/11)

Delta canceling P.C. flight

PANAMA CITY, Fla. - Delta Air Lines is eliminating all of its direct flights from Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport to Memphis beginning Jan. 4, according to airport Executive Director John Wheat. (Source: Panama City News Herald, 10/13/11) Also being cut are Delta direct flights from Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport, Miss., and Mobile Regional Airport, Ala., to Memphis. (previous story)

Continental Motors engines chosen

MOBILE, Ala. – Continental Motors was chosen by Germany’s Flight Design to provide engines for its new four-seat airplane. Continental, located at Brookley Aeroplex, hopes to sell engines for 50 of the planes in 2013, when production begins. That's projected to grow to 100 engines in 2014 and 200 in 2015. Continental's six-cylinder IO-360-AF engine will burn traditional leaded aviation gas as well as unleaded fuel. Earlier this year, China’s AVIC International Holding Corp. bought Continental from Teledyne Technologies. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 10/13/11)

MUOS satellite tested

The first Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) military communications satellite built by Lockheed Martin for the U.S. Navy has successfully completed a major end-to-end system test, validating satellite performance and functionality with user ground terminals. Completion of this key milestone confirms the system meets requirements and allows the satellite to proceed to final factory test activities prior to launch. MUOS will augment and replace the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Follow-On system (UFO) providing communications, including simultaneous voice, video and data, for mobile warfighters. (Source: Lockheed Martin via PRNewswire, 10/12/11) Gulf Coast note: Work on the propulsion system for the MUOS, an A2100 satellite-based spacecraft, is done at Stennis Space Center, Miss.

PW, RR agree to joint venture

Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney announce an agreement to form a new partnership to power future mid-size aircraft (120 to 230 passengers). The two companies will establish a joint venture company, in which each will hold an equal share, to develop new engines for the next generation of aircraft that will replace the existing mid-size fleet. The prediction is a need for nearly 45,000 engines over the next 20 years. (Source: Business Wire, 10/12/11) Gulf Coast note: Rolls Royce tests jet engines and Pratt & Whitney assembles and tests rocket engines at Stennis Space Center, Miss.; Pratt & Whitney is part of United Technologies, which is buying Goodrich Corp. Goodrich’s Alabama Service Center is in Foley, Ala.; RR and PWR competitor GE Aviation is building a composites parts center near Hattiesburg, Miss.

Cyber battle lab among grant projects

Eight state grants totaling $1.03 billion will be used by groups in Northwest Florida to protect and improve military assets, including $300,000 to develop a prototype cyber warfare battle laboratory at the Navy's Corry Station in Pensacola, Fla. The Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce will use two grants to enhance Corry's Center for Information Dominance. Another group, TEAM Santa Rosa, will get two grants totaling $257,726, one to be used for land acquisition near Naval Air Station Whiting Field. A third group, the Economic Development Council of Okaloosa County, is getting two grants totaling $287,500 for projects related to Eglin Air Force Base, Hurlburt Field and Duke Fields, and the Bay County Board of County Commissioners and Bay Defense Alliance will get $93,519 and $87,500, respectively, for projects associated with the Naval Support Activity and Tyndall Air Force Base, Panama City. (Sources: multiple, including Office of the Governor, Florida Defense Alliance, 10/10/11) The Air Force's center for cyber training is at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Miss.

Study: Wind will be top composites user

Wind energy will overtake aerospace as the largest user of advanced composite materials, according to a research report. The overall market for advanced composites, based on carbon fibers, carbon nanotubes, and grapheme, will more than triple to $25.8 billion by 2020, according to a report by Lux Research. In 2020, wind energy will account for nearly 60 percent of the market for composites, compared to the current 35 percent. (Source: Lux Research via Business Wire, 10/12/11)

One flight cut, another added

GULFPORT, Miss. - Delta Air Lines is scheduled to cut direct flights from Gulfport and Mobile, Ala., to Memphis in January, a Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport official said. But US Airways is adding a flight from Gulfport to Charlotte, N.C. The director of air service for the Gulfport airport said that while planes have usually been full flying from Gulfport to Memphis, Memphis is not the final destination for most passengers, and Delta likely can save money routing passengers through Atlanta instead. (Source: Sun Herald, 10/10/11)

UPS leaves Mobile for Pensacola

UPS will close a sorting operation at Brookley Aeroplex in Mobile, Ala., and move the hub to Pensacola Gulf Coast Regional Airport in Pensacola, Fla. Pensacola officials said the new sorting facility will create 30 jobs and open Oct. 31. UPS competitor FedEx still has a regional operation at Brookley. (Sources: multiple, including Pensacola News Journal, Mobile Press-Register, 10/10/11)

BAE chosen for F-35 display solution

BAE Systems photo

LONDON - BAE Systems was selected by Lockheed Martin to supply a Night Vision Goggle Helmet Mounted Display (NVG HMD) system for the F-35 during the next phase of its development. The NVG HMD will incorporate the latest Q-SIGHT waveguide display and feature detachable Night Vision Goggles for night operations. It will also incorporate an optical Head Tracking System for precise weapons delivery and carrier and land-based operations. BAE Systems will begin delivery of test assets in 2012 to support the F-35 development and integration laboratories, flight simulators, and flight-test platforms. (Source: BAE via Business Wire, 10/10/11) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the Joint Strike Fighter training center.

First openings set at Infinity

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. – The restaurant and initial exhibit showcasing earth and space science will open at Infinity Science Center in early 2012. The building will be finished in late October, said John Wilson, education program development director for Infinity. The exhibits were created by ESI Design and interactive designer Edwin Schlossberg, who also designed the Ellis Island experience and other major interactive exhibits across the country. Infinity Science Center, expected to cost $42 million, is at Exit 2 of Interstate 10, south of the entrance to NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center. It will be both a state-of-the-art science center and a major visitor attraction. (Source: Sun Herald, 10/06/11)