Contract: Lockheed Martin, $56.3M

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $56,329,396 cost reimbursement modification to previously awarded contract to provide additional funding for the sustainment effort necessary to meet the requirements and delivery schedule for the F-35 Low Rate Initial Production V. Sixty percent of the work will be done at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and 15 percent at Fort Worth, Texas. El Segundo, Calif.; Warton, United Kingdom; Orlando, Fla.; Nashua, N.H.; and Baltimore, Md., each will do 5 percent. Work is expected to be completed in May 2012. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 03/12/12)

Contract: Lockheed Martin, $38.6M

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $38,599,999 modification to the previously awarded low rate initial production Lot 6 advance acquisition contract to provide additional funding for the procurement of long lead items for F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter low rate initial production conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) aircraft for the Air Force, and the governments of Italy and Australia. Work, which will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, is necessary to protect the delivery schedules of CTOL aircraft planned for delivery through January 2015. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 03/12/12) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 training center.

Orion EFT-1 nears completion

NEW ORLEANS -- The initial construction of the Orion Exploration Flight Test-1 vehicle built at Michoud Assembly Facility is nearing completion, NASA said. The EFT-1 will be launched in 2014 by a United Launch Alliance Delta IV. The test will be conducted for NASA by Lockeed Martin Space Systems. The unmanned capsule will be launched to an altitude of more than 3,600 miles above Earth. When EFT-1 is finished in May, it will be shipped to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Fla., for final assembly and launch preparations. The capsule is designed to carry astronauts into deep space. (Source: NASA, New Orleans Times-Picayune, 03/08/12) Previous. Orion will eventually be launched by the NASA's Space Launch System. The SLS engines are being tested at Stennis Space Center, Miss.

Cause of F-35 fuel leak found

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Three loose fasteners caused the fuel leak that shortened the first flight of an Eglin F-35 earlier this week. The 90-minute flight was cut to 15 minutes Tuesday when the pilot of an F-16 chase plane saw the leak from the F-35. Maintainers also found residual water from an earlier wash of the aircraft. The F-35 is expected to fly next week, with the goal of two flights a week. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, WEAR-TV, 03/09/12) Eglin, in northwest Florida, is home of the Joint Strike Fighter training center, which will train all aviators and maintainers from all three branches of service that will use the F-35. Previous

Contract: Lockheed Martin, $24.1M

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $24,138,848 modification to a previously awarded cost-reimbursement contract for the development of a data farm for the Joint Strike Fighter U.S. Reprogramming Laboratory to be located at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The data farm will interface with lab's prime mission equipment and is used to store software and data from the F-35 mission data testing. The ability to store and retrieve data is critical for mission data production which is vital to program execution. Work will be performed at Fort Worth, Texas (95 percent), and Orlando, Fla. (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in November 2014. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 03/09/12)

Bunker buster against Iran?

The 30,000-pound bunker-buster bomb designed to penetrate deep in the ground before exploding is one of the weapons in an arsenal that could be used in a clash with Iran over its nuclear program. That's what Lt. Gen. Herbert Carlisle, Air Force deputy chief of staff for operations, told a conference on U.S. defense programs. The Pentagon is working on options if sanctions and diplomacy fail to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons. (Sources: multiple, including Reuters, Bloomberg, 03/08/12, The Hill, 03/09/12) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., was involved in development of the bomb, called the Massive Ordnance Penetrator. Previous post

J-2X returned to A-2

J-2X at A-2 stand. NASA/SSC photo

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- J-2X engine 10001 is returned to the A-2 Test Stand at NASA's Stennis Space Center for its second round of tests. The developmental engine underwent an initial series of tests last year. Both the engine and test stand have been modified to begin simulated altitude testing in the coming months. The J-2X engine is designed and built by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne. The J-2X will provide upper-stage power for NASA's Space Launch System, a new heavy-lift vehicle capable of missions beyond low-Earth orbit. (Source: NASA/SSC, 03/08/12)

Test site selection starts

The Federal Aviation Administration is seeking public comments on the agency's selection process for picking six unmanned aircraft system test sites around the United States. Comments are due by May 9. The FAA is required to create the sites based on language in both a defense spending bill and the FAA reauthorization bill. The test sites will help the FAA develop the regulatory framework to govern the widespread use of UAVs in the national airspace. Congress called for full integration of unmanned systems into the national airspace by 2015. (Sources: Los Angeles Times, 03/08/12 Space War, 03/09/12) Previous related posts: Shelby picked for Guard UAV center; Mississippi player in growth field; Drones in national airspace?

Fourth crewmember recovered

MOBILE, Ala. -- The body of the fourth crewmember of a Coast Guard helicopter that crashed last week in Mobile Bay has been recovered. Flight mechanic Petty Officer 3rd Class Andrew Knight's body was recovered more than two miles southwest of the crash site. Four crewmen were aboard the MH-65C that was on a training mission out of the Coast Guard Aviation Training Center in Mobile. (Source: multiple, including Mobile Press-Register, 03/08/12) Previous

728th ACS faces decommissioning

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The 728th Air Control Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base will be decommissioned as a result of force structure changes. About 375 airmen are assigned to the squadron, which falls under the 552d Air Control Group at Tinker Air Force Base, Fla. Air Combat Command determined divesting the 728th is the most feasible option because it's not co-located with operational aircraft and live, air-to-air training opportunities are limited. The changes will take place Sept. 1. (Source: 96th Air Base Wing, 03/07/12)

Eglin F-35 has short first flight

Eglin F-35 on first sortie. Air Force photo

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The first sortie of an F-35 from Eglin Air Force base today was short-lived when the pilot bought the jet back after 15 minutes because of an in flight emergency. Pilots and maintainers are meeting today to discuss the potential fuel leak that shortened the planned 90-minute flight. "Our first sortie is truly a milestone for the program," said Col. Andrew Toth, 33rd Fighter Wing commander. "Unfortunately things happen. We didn't want it to happen today but we were prepared. Our pilot did the exact right thing in returning the jet back to Eglin. Although there were issues we are doing whatever we can to move the program forward safely and effectively." Eglin is home of the Joint Strike Fighter training center, which will train all branches of the military to fly the stealth fighter. The F-35A received an airworthiness certification from the Air Force Aeronautical Systems Center Feb. 27, allowing the advanced fighter aircraft to begin flights at Eglin. (Source: Eglin Air Force Base, 03/06/12)

Rotary wing testing now at Duke

Huey at Duke. Air Force photo

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The 46th Test Wing's UH-1N Hueys have left Eglin main to join the 413th Flight Test Squadron's operating location eight miles north at Eglin's Duke Field. While still under the 46th Test Wing, the helicopters will operate from Duke Field rather than from Eglin to allow the test wing to support a 250 percent increase in helicopter developmental test programs beginning in June. The move will centralize all Air Force helicopter developmental test and evaluation in one squadron, according to Capt. Garrett Knowlan, a flight commander and major architect of the helicopter bed-down. (Source: 46th Test Wing, 03/02/12)

Shelby picked for UAV center

CAMP SHELBY, Miss. -- Add another piece to Mississippi's unmanned aerial vehicle footprint. Camp Shelby, the nation's largest, state-owned military training site, was selected as the site of a new $48 million regional flight center for the Army National Guard's Unmanned Aircraft System. Shelby, picked from 19 sites nationally, has been used by many tactical unmanned air system units for training prior to overseas deployment. It's also home to a company of the 155th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, which has one of the Army's 30 TUAS units. But the training center won't be tied to mobilization but instead will train soldiers nationwide in the operation of UAVs. (Source: Hattiesburg American, 03/02/12)

SSC future looks bright

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- NASA's Stennis Space Center hosted a breakfast Thursday for community leaders from Mississippi and Louisiana to talk about the future, and it looks bright. Patrick Scheuermann, director SSC, said the center, where rocket engines are tested, has a $1 billion impact on the region. Work is booked on every test stand, he said. But the NASA center also hosts activities from other federal and state agencies and commercial companies. Martin Flinders, facilities engineering manager for the Rolls-Royce North America Outdoor Test Facility, said it was the 125,000-acre acoustical buffer zone surrounding Stennis Space Center that prompted the company to pick South Mississippi to test airliner engines. The first stand opened in 2007 and work will begin soon on a second stand. (Sources: Sun Herald, Times-Picayune, 03/01/12)

Two bodies recovered

MOBILE, Ala. -- The bodies of two crewmembers of a Coast Guard helicopter that crashed Tuesday into Mobile Bay have been recovered. Pilot Lt. Cmdr. Dale Taylor of Snow Hill, N.C., and co-pilot Lt. j.g. Thomas Cameron, of Portland, Ore., were found 100 yards from the crash site. Still missing is the flight mechanic, Petty Officer 3rd Class Drew Knight of Thomasville, Ala. Rescue swimmer Fernando Jorge was found Tuesday but was unresponsive and declared dead. (Source: multiple, including Mobile Press-Register, 03/01/12) Previous post

Leader picked for new center

An Air Force Materiel Command general has been nominated by President Obama to lead a new center that will be created in October as part of the AFMC restructuring. Lt. Gen. C.D. Moore II will serve as commander of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The center will manage Air Force weapon systems and foreign military sales, consolidating the Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson, Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., Air Armament Center at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and functions at other AFMC bases. (Sources: Dayton Daily News, 02/29/12, Dayton Business Journal, 03/01/12) Previous related post

200th Lakota delivered

COLUMBUS, Miss. -- EADS North America delivered the 200th UH-72A Lakota Light Utility Helicopter to the U.S. Army during a ceremony at the American Eurocopter production facility in Columbus. It's the first production aircraft to be delivered with the new Security and Support Battalion Mission Equipment Package. The plant in Columbus, in addition to building Lakotas, is also where the initial S&S Battalion Lakotas were retrofitted. The Lakotas equipped with the S&S Battalion MEP will be operated by Army National Guard units across the country. (Source: EADS, 03/01/12) Gulf Coast note: EADS also has operations in Mobile, Ala.

More flights announced

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. -- American Airlines soon will more than double flights between Northwest Florida Regional Airport and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. American Airlines, through its American Eagle affiliate, now flies to and from Dallas/Fort Worth three times a day during the week and twice a day on the weekend. Starting April 3, the airline will add four round-trip flights a day. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 02/29/12)

Bentley: No active project yet

Alabama's governor said Wednesday that his administration is in constant contact with Airbus about establishing an assembly plant Mobile, but Gov. Robert Bentley said no active project exists and no formal negotiations have been conducted. Airbus parent, EADS, had hoped to build an aerial tanker assembly plant in Mobile, but those plans vanished when Boeing won the Air Force contract last year. Airbus has an engineering center and a service center for military aircraft in Mobile. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 03/01/12)

Boeing gets AC-130U contract

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. -- Boeing received an $11.4 million indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract from the Air Force. The first delivery order under is worth $4.6 million and will provide parts to be used to complete installation of 25mm Ammunition Storage and Handling Systems on four AC-130U gunships. The Boeing Fort Walton Beach facility will build the components for delivery to Robins Air Force Base, Ga. (Source: Boeing, 02/29/12)