Euro Hawk could lead to more sales

Northrop Grumman hopes the Euro Hawk rolled out last week will lead to “a huge” international market, according to Duke Dufresne, company strike and surveillance division general manager. Aviation Week reports Dufresne as saying that aside from sales to Germany and NATO, the Global Hawk also is being eyed by Australia, Spain, Korea and Japan. The first international version of the UAV, which differs from previous variants in having six wing-mounted signals intelligence pods, will start taxi tests in February. The first flight is targeted for March. Current plans call for a direct flight along the great circle route via Canada airspace to EADS’ Manching site in Germany. Germany is expected to buy four more Euro Hawks. (Source: Aviation Week, 10/12/09) Gulf Coast note: Global Hawks are made in part in Moss Point, Miss.

SDB test wraps up

The Boeing GBU-40 Small Diameter Bomb II team finished a 42-month risk reduction program last month with a flight test at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. In the test, the guided test vehicle dropped from an F-15E Strike Eagle was equipped with production-ready components, including a Harris data link, Lockheed Martin tri-mode seeker, and modified SDB Increment I (GBU-39) assemblies. The weapon received target updates using a tactical radio communications system processed by the seeker. The seeker successfully performed search, detect, track and classify and the weapon fuze detonated upon impact with the intended target. Boeing is teamed with Lockheed Martin in the SDB II program competition, and as the prime contractor will provide the air vehicle and system integration. Lockheed Martin will supply the sensor/seeker. (Source: Boeing, 10/12/09)

Unions back Boeing tanker bid

Leaders of one of the nation's largest labor unions are calling on Defense Secretary Robert Gates to select Boeing for the U.S. Air Force tanker contract. A group of 10 state presidents representing the AFL-CIO said in a letter to Gates that Boeing is the right choice "for investing in American workers, American knowledge, American security and America's future." Boeing is competing against the Northrop Grumman/EADS team to build the next generation of tankers. EADS wants to assemble them in Mobile, Ala. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 10/10/09)

World View-2 successfully launched

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – Boeing successfully launched the WorldView-2 satellite for DigitalGlobe aboard a Delta II rocket Thursday. Liftoff was at 11:51 a.m. Pacific Time, and the Delta II released WorldView-2 about 62 minutes after liftoff into a sun-synchronous orbit. The satellite is designed to collect and record commercial, high-resolution Earth imagery. DigitalGlobe now has three satellites in its constellation. (Source: Boeing, 10/08/09) Gulf Coast note: DigitalGlobe has an office at Stennis Space Center, Miss.

Goodrich Foley celebrates 25 years

FOLEY, Ala. - The Goodrich plant has grown from 37 to 800 employees, showing Alabama can be a leader in the aircraft manufacturing industry, company and state officials said Thursday. The plant, which makes and repairs aircraft engine housings, marked its 25th anniversary Thursday with a celebration that included local, state and federal dignitaries. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 10/09/09)

Bunker buster deployment nears

The Pentagon acknowledged Wednesday what’s been clear to anyone who tracks DoD contracts. Deployment of the massive “bunker buster” bomb, capable of penetrating deeply buried facilities, is on a fast track. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the first 30,000-pound Massive Ordnance Penetrator should be ready by the middle of next year. He notes that the United States has other weapons capable of penetrating hardened facilities, but says the technology in the MOP takes the capability to a new level and puts it in a class by itself. The Pentagon said in August it wanted to speed up production plans. (Source: Multiple, including Voice of America, AFP, 10/08/09) Gulf Coast note: The weapon is being developed by Boeing and Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

Euro Hawk unveiled by Northrop

PALMDALE, Calif. - Northrop Grumman and EADS Defence & Security (DS) introduced the first Euro Hawk unmanned aircraft system in an unveiling ceremony Thursday in Palmdale. The Euro Hawk marks the first international configuration of the RQ-4 Global Hawk high-altitude, long-endurance UAV, and solidifies Northrop Grumman's first transatlantic cooperation with Germany and DS. More than 300 employees from Northrop and DS and officials from the German Air Force and Ministry of Defence attended. The aircraft will be equipped with German sensors. (Source: Globe Newswire, 10/08/09) Gulf Coast note: Global Hawks are built in part in Moss Point, Miss. EADS and Northrop are also teamed up in the competition to build aerial tankers for the Air Force. If they win, the planes would be assembled in Mobile, Ala.

Fire Scout now on first deployment

PATUXENT RIVER, Md. - The MQ-8B Fire Scout made naval aviation history when the fleet deployed the rotary wing unmanned aircraft system aboard the USS McInerney this week. Fleet introduction of the Fire Scout marks the first time a large, automated UAV has been delivered for ship board operation by sailors. The Fire Scout departed with the 4th Fleet to assist during a counter-narcotics trafficking deployment. It will provide situational awareness as the fleet employs its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, said Capt. Tim Dunigan, Fire Scout program manager. (Source: Naval Air Systems Command, 10/07/09) Gulf Coast note: Fire Scouts are built in part in Moss Point, Miss.

Panama City airport picks name

PANAMA CITY, Fla. - The Bay County airport authority has voted to name the new international airport now under construction at West Bay the Northwest Florida – Panama City International Airport. It’s scheduled to open in May 2010. The authority solicited input from community organizations, including the region’s Tourism Development Councils, Economic Development Alliances, chambers and citizens. (Source: Business Wire, 10/07/09)

EADS, Army validate Lakota mobility

GULFPORT, Miss. - EADS North America and the U.S. Army successfully loaded four Army UH-72A Lakota Light Utility Helicopters and one company-owned EC145 helicopter onto a C-17, validating the transportability of the LUH. The demonstration was performed at Gulfport in preparation for a future delivery of four U.S. Army UH-72A Lakotas to the Pacific theater for basing on the Kwajalein Atoll. The loading test confirmed that five UH-72A helicopters can be accommodated in the C-17’s cargo bay with minimal disassembly, and that the aircraft can be made mission-ready upon arrival with no maintenance test flights required. The Lakotas are build in Columbus, Miss. (Source: EADS NA, 10/05/09)

"Keel-laying" held for flight academy

PENSACOLA, Fla. – The National Flight Academy at Naval Air Station Pensacola hosted a keel-laying ceremony Tuesday to celebrate construction on the 100,000-square-foot educational facility. When completed in 2011, the academy will be a science camp for students grades 7-12, and will use a naval-aviation-themed environment. Ground was broken in June. The $26.5 million construction project includes a 100,000-square-foot academy and 55,000-square-foot addition to the National Naval Aviation Museum. (Source: Pensacola News Journal, 10/06/09)

Contract: Raytheon, $17.5M

Raytheon Missile Systems Co., of Tucson, Ariz., was awarded a $17,471,784 contract to provide 578 propulsion sections to be installed into AIM-120B air vehicles. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. 695 ARSS, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 10/06/09)

Engineering focus of program

MOBILE, Ala. – In a bid to get more students interested in engineering, nine Mobile County elementary and middle schools will get a $3.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation for a program designed to do just that. U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner said it’s a pilot program that will set the pace for educators across the nation. The program is Engaging Youth in Engineering. Alabama needs at least 1,200 more engineers and about 24,000 technicians, said Bob Foley, assistant dean at the USA's College of Engineering. The state's engineering colleges are only producing about 400 a year. “You can't bring Northrop Grumman or EADS into Mobile without training workers,” Bonner said. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 10/06/09)

Mobile wants to get Southwest

MOBILE, Ala. - Mobile Regional Airport and business leaders are launching a new push for the Dallas-based discount carrier Southwest Airlines, which could include efforts to give public money and free hotel rooms as enticements. The Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce is sounding out business leaders on potential pledges, using an online survey set to end Wednesday. The incentives would echo those offered by three Florida airports also seeking the carrier: Pensacola, Fort Walton Beach and Panama City. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 10/06/09)

AirTran plans new non-stop

NEW ORLEANS, La. - Passengers can take a new non-stop AirTran Airways flight to Baltimore-Washington International Airport starting Thursday, according to officials. The flight from Louis Armstrong International Airport will depart daily at 5:04 p.m. every weekday but Tuesdays and Wednesdays, when it doesn't operate. (Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune, 10/06/09)

Contract: McDonnell, $51.9M

McDonnell Douglas Corp. of St. Louis, Missouri, was awarded a $51,900,000 contract to provide Massive Ordnance Penetrator Integration on B-2 test aircraft. At this time $32,150,000 has been obligated. 708 ARSG/PK, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 10/02/09)

Sessions raises fairness issue in tanker

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., introduced legislation to block funding for the tanker program until the Pentagon releases pricing data to Northrop Grumman from the first round of competition. The Pentagon last week opened a rematch between Boeing and the Northrop/EADS team for the contract. But Northrop says the new competition is unfair because the Air Force denied its request to see details of Boeing's previous bid, although Boeing was allowed to see Northrop's pricing data after the initial competition last year. Northrop/EADS plans to assemble the tankers in Mobile if the team wins the next competition. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 10/02/09)

Fire Scout up for innovation award

The Fire Scout unmanned helicopter, built in part in Moss Point, Miss., is in the running for an innovation award from the C4ISR Journal. The awards honor outstanding innovations in intelligence gathering and networking. Finalists were selected for five categories: sensors, innovations, organizations, network systems and platforms. A “top five award” will be presented to one winner from each category at a banquet later this month in Arlington, Va. In addition to Fire Scout, the other products in the innovations category are QinetiQ’s solar-electric powered Zephyr, Sierra Nevada’s sensor pod for tactical level ISR, the Naval Air Systems Command’s digital close air support system and Raytheon’s ARTEMIS imaging spectrometer. (Source: PRNewswire, 10/01/09) Gulf Coast note: QinetiQ also has an operation in the Gulf Coast at Long Beach, Miss.

Northrop wins KC-10 service contract

Northrop Grumman beat rival Boeing for a $3.8 billion contract to maintain and service Air Force KC-10 refueling tankers. Boeing’s current contract expires in January. It’s been servicing the planes for more than a decade. Northrop and partner EADS are also competing against Boeing to build tankers to the Air Force. (Source: Reuters, 10/01/09) Gulf Coast note: If Northrop/EADS wins the tanker competition, planes would be assembled in Mobile, Ala.

Contract: Tybrin, $6.2M

Tybrin Corp. of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., was awarded a $6,191,927 contract which will provide for non-personal advisory and assistance services to fully support aerospace research, development, test and evaluation activities at the Air Force Flight Test Center. At this time, no money has been obligated. AFFTC/PKTJ, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 10/01/09)