Contract: Kaman, $53M

Kaman Precision Products, Inc., Orlando, Fla., is being awarded a $52,970,557 firm-fixed contract for joint programmable fuze systems, including the FMU-152 fuze and FZU-55 initiator, of five FMS countries for a quantity of 458 and the Air Force for a quantity of 14,601 each. 679th Armament Systems Squadron, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 06/30/09)

Land-configured Fire Scout tested

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - A Northrop Grumman MQ-8B Fire Scout successfully completed first flight operations at Yuma Proving Grounds, Ariz. Unlike current Navy configured Fire Scouts, this one, designated P7, was built for land-based operations and is the first MQ-8B to fly without flight test instrumentation usually installed for developmental flights. The P7's tests will continue throughout the summer. (Source: Northrop Grumman, 06/30/09) Gulf Coast note: Fire Scouts are built in part in Moss Point, Miss.

Taxiway nears completion

MOSS POINT, Miss. – A taxiway linking the Northrop Grumman Unmanned Systems Center to the Trent Lott International Airport should be operational soon. Right now is just needs lighting. Northrop Grumman does finishing work on the Fire Scout unmanned helicopter at the center, and wants to do product flight testing in South Mississippi. Jackson County Economic Development Director George Freeland said the addition of the taxiway could create at least 16 more jobs at the center. (Source: Sun Herald, 06/28/09)

GE, USM study composite engine parts

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - A $2.4 million state grant will be used by a GE Aviation and the University of Southern Mississippi’s School of Polymers and High Performance Materials for research on composite materials for an GEnx engine to power the Boeing 787 and 747-8 aircraft. The grant is from the Mississippi Development Authority. GE Aviation, which has a plant in Batesville producing composite-material parts for jet engines, will spend $2.5 million on the research. The project will last for one year. (Source: Hattiesburg American, 06/30/09)

Goodrich opens new China operation

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Goodrich Corp. opened a new facility in China’s Tianjin Airport Industrial Park to support nacelle and thrust reverser original equipment as well as maintenance, repair and overhaul activities. Part of Goodrich's Aerostructures business, the 50,000 square foot facility will perform work for customers in the region. It also will support engine buildup and podding work for the new Airbus A320 family aircraft final assembly line in Tianjin. (Source: Goodrich, 06/25/09) Gulf Coast note: Goodrich's Aerostructures business runs the Alabama Service Center in Foley, Ala., which provides maintenance, repair and overhaul services on nacelles, doors, fairings, flight controls, pneumatic ducting and wire harnesses.

Northwest region assesses Paris

EVERETT, Wash. – Companies and organizations are taking inventory of leads developed at the Paris Air Show. The Pacific Northwest Aerospace Alliance, Washington Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development and Aerospace Futures Alliance organized a state aerospace pavilion at the show. Eleven Northwest aerospace companies participated. Organizers estimate there were about 80 meetings. (Source: Everett Herald, 06/29/09) Gulf Coast note: The Gulf Coast region also had representatives at the show. A common tie between the Northwest and Gulf Coast is competition between Boeing and Northrop Grumman for the Air Force tanker project. Boeing wants to build the planes in Washington, and Northrop and partner EADS want to build them in Mobile, Ala.

Rolls-Royce BR725 EASA certified

Rolls-Royce received type certification for the new BR725 engine that will power the first flight of the Gulfstream G650 business jet later in the year. Type certification was from the European Aviation Safety Agency. Testing was done at various Rolls-Royce locations in Europe and the United States, including the outdoor jet engine testing facility at NASA’s John C Stennis Space Center, Miss. (Source: Rolls Royce, 06/24/09)

Hurlburt unit transfers to Cannon

CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. - Officials from the 16th Special Operations Squadron held a squadron flag-transfer ceremony last week to mark the official transfer of the squadron from Hurlburt Field, Fla. The 16th SOS flies the AC-130H gunship and conducts missions such as close-air support, air interdiction and force protection. The AC-130H is armed with 40 mm and 105 mm cannons. Det. 1 of the 16th SOS stood up at Cannon in July 2008 to prepare the way for the arrival of eight aircraft and nearly 500 people. (Source: AFNS, 06/26/09)

Tyndall faces cut of 600 positions

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - The Air Force plans to cut nearly 600 military positions and four civilian positions from Tyndall Air Force Base as part of the 2010 restructuring. The base is home to about 3,500 active-duty military and 2,000 civilian jobs. By contrast, Hurlburt Field will see an increase of 435 military positions and 79 civilian positions, and Eglin Air Force Base will see an increase of 123 military and 302 civilian positions. The changes, if approved by Congress, would take effect Oct. 1. (Sources: Panama City News Herald, Eglin AFB, 06/26/09)

Aviation board consolidating parcels

NEW ORLEANS, La. - To make dozens of scattered acres of vacant airport-buyout land more attractive to developers, the New Orleans Aviation Board has consolidated it into eight parcels. Officials from Kenner, where most of the land is located, and Louis Armstrong International Airport are drafting a request for proposals for potential developers. The airport bought the land and razed houses beginning in the mid-1990s as part of a noise-mitigation lawsuit, but it has remained vacant. Now the Federal Aviation Administration, which paid for the property, has directed the airport to submit a plan by October for using the land. (Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune, 06/26/09)

Mexico flight will encourage ties

NEW ORLEANS, La. - The AeroMexico nonstop flight between New Orleans and Mexico City that begins next month will encourage business ties between Louisiana and Mexico, experts said at a forum sponsored by the World Trade Center. The direct flight lasts two hours and 20 minutes and begins service from New Orleans on July 7. (Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune, 06/27/09)

Contract: Raytheon, $9.7M

Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, Ariz., is being awarded a $9,734,960 modification to a firm-fixed-price contract providing a follow-on test and evaluation and captive carry reliability program and will provide support in the performance of Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile Intercept Missile (AIM)-120D program. 695 ARSS, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity (Source: DoD, 06/26/09)

Munitions gets new chief

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – Col. Kenneth Echternacht was installed Thursday as the new chief of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Munitions Directorate. He’ll be in charge of more than 500 personnel. The directorate performs research on precision guidance, missile guidance and control, computational mechanics, smart sub-munitions, warheads and explosives. Echternacht, who worked at the lab from 1996 to 2000, was most recently chief of the Air Force Science and Technology Division under the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 06/24/09)

Hubble astronauts visit Stennis

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - Astronauts from the STS-125 mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope shared accounts of their mission during a visit Wednesday to the StenniSphere, the visitor center at John C. Stennis Space Center. The crewmembers thanked Stennis employees for their contributions to the mission. The astronauts spent five days conducting five spacewalks to provide upgrades to the telescope as part of their 14-day mission aboard space shuttle Atlantis. (Source: NASA, 06/24/09)

Latest Global Hawk rolls out

PALMDALE, Calif. - Northrop Grumman and the Air Force unveiled the next-generation Global Hawk Thursday. The RQ-4 Block 40 Global Hawk uses the MP-RTIP sensor, the first time the active electronic scanned array technology has been used on a high-altitude unmanned aircraft. AESA technology provides all-weather, day-night synthetic aperture radar mapping and ground moving target indicator capability. Designated AF-18, it’s scheduled to begin flight testing next month. (Source: Northrop Grumman, 06/25/09) Gulf Coast note: Fuselage work on AF-18 was done in Moss Point, Miss.

Airport takes on project backlog

NEW ORLEANS, La. - Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport has launched the first of what will be $350 million in improvements to modernize the facility and create about 7,000 construction jobs. Construction should be mostly finished before Super Bowl 2013. The most expensive project is a $114 million rental-car facility with 1,800 parking spaces. The aviation board is using tax-exempt Gulf Opportunity Zone bonds for the garage. (Source: New Orleans Times Picayune, 06/25/09)

53rd gets new commander

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - Col. Michael Gantt on Wednesday assumed command of the 53rd Wing from Brig. Gen. (select) Steve DePalmer, who became vice commander of the 14th Air Force in May. Gantt previously served as vice commander of the 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano Air Base, Italy. The 53rd reports to the Air Force Warfare Center at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 06/24/09)

American Eagle adds Mobile flight

MOBILE, Ala. - American Eagle will resume a fourth daily round trip between Mobile and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport starting Aug. 1. Traffic has picked up in Mobile. May saw 2 percent more passengers through the airport than in May 2008, the first time since February 2008 that traffic grew year over year. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 06/25/09)

Contract: Northrop, $276.3M

The Air Force awarded a contract to Northrop Grumman for $276,281,235 to provide the rapid fielding and support of a communications network for military drones – the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node System. The system will be installed on three Bombardier BD-700 Global Express and two Global Hawk Block 20 aircraft. 653d ELSG/PK, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 06/24/09) Gulf Coast note: Global Hawks are built in part in Moss Point, Miss.

Contract: Jacobs, $17.3M

The Air Force is modifying an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract to Jacobs Technology, Inc., of Tullahoma, Tenn., for $17,280,405.89. This action will provide technical, engineering and acquisition support at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and various other tenant organizations. This contract increases the work requirement. AAC/PKES, Eglin Air Force Base, is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 06/24/09)