Keesler wing changes leaders Monday

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. - Brig. Gen. Andrew Mueller assumes command of the 81st Training Wing from Brig. Gen. Ian Dickinson, 9 a.m. Monday on the parade field. Mueller comes to Keesler from Eskisehir, Turkey, where he served as the deputy commander for NATO's Combined Air Operations Center 6, Allied Air Forces Southern Europe. Dickinson, who came to Keesler in May 2009 and pinned on the rank of brigadier general a year ago, has been chosen as Director, Communications and Information, and Chief Information Officer, Headquarters Air Force Space Command, Peterson AFB, Colo. (Source: 81st TW Public Affairs, 07/29/10)

Tyndall getting F-22 squadron

Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., will be getting an additional squadron of F-22 Raptors being relocated from Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. Another squadron of F-22s from Holloman is being distributed among three other bases. The announcement was made by the Air Force Thursday as part of a consolidation plan for the F-22 fleet. Tyndall is getting 21 aircraft, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, will get six, Langley Air Force Base, Va., will get six, and Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., will get two of the F-22s. (Source: DoD, 07/29/10)

Luke, Hill, Burlington to get F-35s

A day after announcing that Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., will get 59 F-35s for its joint strike fighter training center, the Air Force announced additional basings for the next-generation plane. The Air Force chose Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., Hill Air Force Base, Utah, and Burlington Air Guard Station, Vt., to get F-35s. The Luke planes will be used for training, while Hill's and Burlington's will be for operations. The previously announced candidates for operations aircraft were, in addition to Hill and Burlington, Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, Shaw Air Force Base/McEntire Joint National Guard Base, S.C., and Jacksonville Air Guard Station, Fla. The other training base candidates, in addition to Luke, were Boise AGS, Idaho, Holloman Air Force Base, N.M, and Tucson Air Guard Station, Ariz. Eglin was also a candidate for additional training jets. The current scope of this basing action includes 250 to 300 F-35 aircraft. (Source: DoD, 07/29/10)

AF leaves Eglin with 59 F-35s

The Air Force said today that it will base 59 F-35 aircraft at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., contingent upon the result of a draft supplemental environmental impact statement expected to be released this fall. The planes will be based at Eglin with flight operations also occurring at Duke and Choctaw fields. The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission established the F-35 Initial Joint Training Center at Eglin, with the expectation of 107 planes. The number was set at 59 last year, but expection was Eglin would get 48 more. The announcement today ends that. "This is not a final basing decision; it is the alternative we believe will fulfill our mission responsibilities while considering economic, environmental, and technical factors," said Kathleen Ferguson, Air Force deputy assistant secretary for installations. In a news conference this afternoon at Eglin, Maj. Gen. C.R. Davis, Air Armament Center Commander, said the additional aircraft would interfere with other air missions at the base. (Source: AFNS, Northwest Florida Daily News, 07/28/10)

Contract: Anderson Drace, $14.4M

Anderson Drace, JV, Gulfport, Miss., is being awarded a $14,380,420 firm-fixed-price contract which provides for the design and construction of a bachelor enlisted quarters for the Corry "A" School students training at Naval Air Station Pensacola. The work to be performed provides 80 2-plus-2 modules for 320 Corry "A" School students training at the Center for Information Dominance. The contract contains one unexercised option which, if exercised, would increase cumulative contract value to $14,391,620. Work will be performed in Pensacola, Fla., and is expected to be completed by August 2012. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southeast, Jacksonville, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 07/26/10)

Contract: Bates, $5M

Bates Engineers/Contractors Inc., Bainbridge, Ga., was awarded a $5,023,576 firm-fixed-price contract to construct a new 1,400 square meter addition to an existing simulator facility. Construction will consist of structural steel, concrete masonry unit, exterior and a standing seam metal roof. Heating ventilation, air condition, fire detection suppression and access control/intrusion detection systems are required. A bridge crane, emergency generator, unlimited power supply, furnishing all utilities and parking are included. Construction phasing and leadership energy environmental design certification are required. Unexercised options in the amount of $200,000 are available for future execution by the government. Work is to be performed in Hulbert Field, Fla., with an estimated completion date of Nov. 18, 2011. Corps of Engineers-Mobile Regional Contracting Center, Mobile, Ala., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 07/23/10)

Contract: Tybrin, $11.4M

Tybrin Corp., Fort Walton Beach, Fla., was awarded an $11,446,277 contract modification which will add 70 man-years of software engineering support for guided weapons systems evaluations, simulations and other services supporting research and development for the principals and customers of the Air Armament Center. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. AAC/PKET, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 07/22/10)

Panel trims commercial space dollars

The House Committee on Science and Technology wants to devote $750 million to developing a commercial space industry, well under the $6 billion requested by the Obama administration and the $1.3 billion a Senate panel approved last week. The House authorization bill would also instruct NASA to continue developing its own rocket, which the administration wants to kill. (Source: New York Times, 07/20/10)

Airstrip expansion decision nears

BAY MINETTE, Ala. - A decision should be made soon on which Baldwin County airstrips will be expanded to handle new Navy training aircraft. Jay Cope, spokesman for Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Fla., said at a Baldwin County Commission meeting that studies are continuing on which two Baldwin outlying fields will get between 500 and 1,500 additional feet of runway. Whiting, which trains military pilots, has eight outlying fields in the region. The Navy is switching from T-34 Turbo Mentors to T-6B Texan aircraft, which need longer runways to operate. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 07/21/10)

Contract: Lockheed Martin, $819.6M

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded an $819,647,920 cost-plus-incentive-fee modification to a previously awarded advance acquisition contract for special tools/test equipment required in support of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter air system low-rate initial production Lot IV production. Work will be performed in California, Texas, the United Kingdom, Illinois, Maryland, Colorado and other locations. Work is expected to be completed in January 2013. This modification combines purchases for the Navy, Air Force and international partners. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 07/19/10) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the Joint Strike Fighter training center.

Mississippi has air show pavilion

The state of Mississippi will have its own pavilion at London's Farnborough International Airshow this year. It will show the range of Mississippi aerospace activities, including the substantial work done in South Mississippi. The week-long air show gets under way next week. A group of which Mississippi is a member, the four-state Aerospace Alliance, is also hosting a reception for about 500 aerospace executives and prospects at London's Kensington Palace Sunday evening. (Source: Tcp, 07/17/10)

Alabama officials visit EADS

Although EADS is still competing for an Air Force contract, Alabama business and education leaders spent three days in Spain and France this week meeting with EADS to gain insight into the company's training needs for its proposed 1,500-worker factory. The delegation arrived Tuesday in Madrid and toured EADS operations. On Friday, the group was at Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, France, and left Saturday for London to attend the Farnborough International Airshow. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 07/17/10)

Fire Scout passes extreme tests

ABU DHABI, UAE - The Fire Scout passed a series of flight demonstrations over 10 days earlier this month in the United Arab Emirates. The MQ-8B demonstrations included takeoffs and landings in hot, windy and sandy conditions in temperatures as high as 117 degrees Fahrenheit and altitudes of up to 9,842 feet. The Navy will conduct operational evaluation of the system later this year aboard the USS Halyburton. (Source: Northrop Grumman via Globe Newswire, 07/14/10) Gulf Coast note: Fire Scouts are built in part in Moss Point, Miss.

Canada selects F-35

The Government of Canada today announced plans to acquire the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter as its next-generation fighter aircraft. It will replace Canada's fleet of CF-18 Hornets that entered service in the early 1980s. The stealth fighter is being developed and funded by a consortium of nine countries, including Canada, which plans to acquire 65 F-35s. Delivery of Canada's F-35s will begin in 2016. (Source: PRNewswire, 07/16/10) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the joint strike fighter training center.

Aerojet engine arrives

An Aerojet AJ26 rocket engine was delivered to NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center on Thursday. It's the first of a series of Taurus II engines that will be tested at SSC to include acceptance testing of flight engines. Stennis will provide propulsion system acceptance testing for the Taurus II space launch vehicle being developed by Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va. The first Taurus II mission will be flown in support of NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services cargo demonstration to the International Space Station. Orbital's Taurus II design uses a pair of Aerojet AJ26 rocket engines to provide first stage propulsion for the new launch vehicle. (Source: NASA, 07/15/10)

Contract: SAIC, $9.5M

Science Applications International Corp., McLean, Va., is being awarded a $9,513,837 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with firm-fixed-price and/or firm-fixed-price level-of-effort task orders for information technology ashore operations support services for the Navy's Military Sealift Command. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $49,846,901. Work will be performed primarily in Washington, D.C., and other sites in Norfolk, Va., Pensacola, Fla., and San Diego, Calif. Work is expected to be completed by July 31, 2011. If all options are exercised, work could continue until July 31, 2015. The Military Sealift Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 07/15/10)

Contract: Simplex, $11.8M

Simplex Corp., Hallandale, Fla., was awarded an $11,774,400 contract which will lease four Mi-8/17 aircraft with the period of performance from Oct. 1, 2010 to Sept. 30, 2011. At this time, $11,774,400 has been obligated. HQ AFSOC/A7KQ, Hurlburt Field, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 07/15/10)

New flight announced

NEW ORLEANS, La. - For the second time in less than a week, an international air carrier has announced new service between New Orleans and Toronto. Air Canada, which operated out of New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina, said Wednesday that it will resume flights from the city Oct. 30. (Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune, 07/15/10)

Contract: Boeing, $7M

Boeing Co., Fort Walton Beach, Fla., was awarded a $7,000,000 contract which will support the 40mm gun requirement for the AC-130 Plus Four program. At this time, $1,173,207 has been obligated. 782 CBSG/GBKAA, Robins Air Force Base, Ga., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 07/13/10)

Farnborough starts next week

The Gulf Coast will be represented next week's Farnborough International Airshow. The July 19-25 show is held every other year. There will be about 70 delegations from 38 countries. The nearly week-long event will include 132,000 trade visitors, 153,000 public visitors, 1,393 exhibitors from 40 countries, 29 international pavilions and 165 aircraft on display, and it will be covered by 1,800 media personnel. (Source: Tcp, 07/13/10)