Lockheed rolls out new Combat Shadow

MARIETTA, Ga. - Lockheed Martin rolled out the first aircraft in a new fleet of MC-130J Combat Shadow IIs for the U.S. Air Force’s Special Operations Command during a ceremony in Georgia Tuesday. Lockheed Martin is contracted to build 15 MC 130Js to begin replacing the current fleet. The U.S. Air Force is authorized to acquire up to 20 MC-130Js against an approved requirement for 37. (Source: Lockheed Martin, 03/29/11) Gulf Coast note: The Air Force Special Operations Command is headquartered at Hurlburt Field, Fla.

Contract: Raytheon, $9M

Raytheon Co., Tucson, Ariz., is being awarded a $9,000,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for technical support of the use of Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) special test vehicles, special test equipment, and test positions to include AMRAAM modeling and simulation. Work will be performed at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. AAC/PKES, Fort Walton Beach, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 03/31/11)

WTO raps Boeing for subsidies

The World Trade Organization in a report published today said Boeing received at least $5.3 billion in improper subsidies from the United States to develop jets, including the 787. That gave it an unfair advantage against European rival Airbus. The European Union claimed research and development grants from the federal government’s NASA and Defense Department, including development of carbon composites, contributed to the technologies to build the 787. An appeal by Washington is being considered. The ruling is the latest round in a six-year battle between Boeing and Airbus, part of EADS. In a case decided last June, the WTO found that Airbus had benefited from improper subsidies as well. (Source: Multiple, including New York Times, Reuters, 03/31/11)

33rd Wing commander relieved of duty

RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas - Col. David A. Hlatky has been relieved as commander of the 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., effective today. Maj. Gen. Mark Solo, 19th Air Force commander at Randolph Air Force Base, lost confidence in Hlatky's ability to command as a result of an investigation following allegations of personal misconduct. Col. Andrew J. Toth assumed command of the wing today. He previously served as the executive officer to the commander of Air Combat Command at Langley Air Force Base, Va. (Source: Air Education and Training Command, 03/31/11)

Contract: EADS, $21.5M

EADS North American Defense, Arlington, Va., was awarded a $21,468,420 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the procurement of four UH-72A light utility helicopters; four airborne radio communication 231 system production cut-in; and one engine inlet barrier filter production cut-in. Work will be done in Columbus, Miss., with an estimated completion date of April 30, 2012. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 03/30/11)

Contract: Sikorsky, $84.1M

Sikorsky Support Services, Inc., Pensacola, Fla., is being awarded an $84,100,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for logistics services and materials for organizational, intermediate, and depot level maintenance to support 273 T-34, 54 T-44, and 62 T-6 aircraft based primarily at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas; NAS Whiting Field, Fla.; and NAS Pensacola. Work will be performed in Corpus Christi, Whiting Field, Pensacola and various sites within the continental United States. Work is expected to be completed in October 2011. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 03/30/11)

Contract: L-3 Vertex, $42.3M

L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace LLC, Madison, Miss., is being awarded a $42,285,583 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery requirements contract for logistics support of 124 TH-57B/TH-57C aircraft. Work will be performed at Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Milton, Fla. (99 percent), and NAS Patuxent River, Md. and is expected to be completed in September 2012. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 03/30/11)

Ribbon cut on cryogenics control building

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - NASA cut the ribbon on a new cryogenics control center at John C. Stennis Space Center today, marking near completion of a project to strengthen protection for liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen barges in the event of a natural disaster. The new structure consolidates LH and LOX operations and provides a safe shelter for a disaster ride-out crew. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, NASA conducted a study to identify support systems at the site that should be "hardened" to withstand the impacts of future storms. The study cited the need to provide a safe haven for LH and LOX cryogenic barges needed to perform rocket engine testing at the south Mississippi facility. The project ensures a safe haven for all six LOX and three LH barges at Stennis. (Source: NASA, 03/30/10)

Contact: ATK, $35.8M

Alliant Techsystems Inc., Plymouth, Minn., is being awarded a $35,796,194 fixed-price incentive contract which will provide the hard target sensing fuze, an advanced fuze system for use with BLU-109, BLU-113, and BLU-122 warheads and their associated guidance systems. The fuze system will be capable of surviving penetration through 5,000 to 15,000 pounds per square inch of multiple soil layers and/or reinforced concrete, and detonating within a specific void inside the target or at a specific delay time programmed into the fuze. The fuze will also provide in-flight programmability, safing and arming, multi-mode function capability (time-delay and void sensing), and multi-delay arming. AAC/EBDK, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 03/29/11)

EADS' Eurocopter buying Vector

Eurocopter, the helicopter unit of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space group, EADS, said Monday it entered an agreement to buy all the outstanding shares of Canada's Vector Aerospace Corp. The deal for the helicopter overhaul and repair company is valued at $638 million. (Sources: Multiple, including AFP, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, 03/28/11) Gulf Coast note: Vector Aerospace has an operation at the South Alabama Regional Airport in Andalusia, Ala., which opened in 2008. EADS has a helicopter production facility in Columbus, Miss., and two operations in Mobile, Ala. Previous

Faulty F-35 procedure fixed

Faulty maintenance procedures caused the in-flight failure of the engine generators on an F-35, the program office said. Those procedures have now been revised, and the entire fleet of F-35s has been cleared to resume flight operations. The problem was found in a test flight earlier this month in California in an F-35 with an alternate generator configuration. (Source: Defense News, 03/25/11) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 training center.

USCG training for unmanned systems

MOBILE, Ala. - The U.S. Coast Guard doesn't have any unmanned systems in its inventory, but the service is forging ahead with some training, according to the service's unmanned aerial system platform manager. The skeleton of the service's program is taking shape at Aviation Training Center, Mobile, Ala. The Coast Guard has trained three pilots in Mobile to operate the MQ-9 Guardian, a variant of the Air Force’s Reaper. The program is in its infancy and there's no training pipeline yet, pending funding. One of the systems the Coast Guard is eyeing is the Fire Scout unmanned helicopter, built in part in nearby Moss Point, Miss. (Source: Navy Times, 03/26/11)

EADS eyes Vector Aerospace

EADS on Thursday said that it was in exclusive talks to purchase Vector Aerospace, a Canadian company that repairs and maintains civil and military helicopters. The move comes as EADS is attempting to revive hopes of expanding its footprint in North America through a mix of organic growth and deals following its loss last month to Boeing of the $35 billion Air Force aerial tanker project. (Source: Financial Times, 03/24/11) Gulf Coast note: Vector Aerospace has an operation at the South Alabama Regional Airport in Andalusia, Ala., which opened in 2008. EADS has a helicopter production facility in Columbus, Miss., and two operations in Mobile, Ala.

F-136 engine stop work order issued

WASHINGTON - The Department of Defense Thursday issued a stop work order on the F-136 engine being developed by General Electric and Rolls-Royce for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The administration and DoD oppose the extra engine as a waste of taxpayer dollars. The stop work order will remain in place pending final resolution of the program's future, for a period not to exceed 90 days, unless extended by agreement of the government and the contractor. The F-35's primary engine is the Pratt and Whitney F135. (Source: DoD, 03/24/11, GE response, 03/24/11) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the JSF training center.

J-2X assembly in full swing

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - Assembly of the first J-2X, called engine 10001, is in full swing at NASA's Stennis Space Center, Miss. Managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center, the J-2X engine is a rocket engine with the performance characteristics to power the upper-stage of a heavy-lift launch vehicle. Fueled by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, the J-2X engine will generate 294,000 pounds of thrust to propel a spacecraft from low-Earth orbit to the moon, an asteroid, or other celestial destination. This week, the Stennis Space Center's A-2 test stand was certified ready to support J-2X development testing. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif. is the prime contractor for the design and manufacture of the J-2X. Hot fire testing of Engine 10001 is targeted for later this summer at Stennis. (Source: NASA, 03/24/11)

Contract: L-3 Vertex, $7.3M

L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace, Madison, Miss., is being awarded a $7,261,201 firm-fixed-price contract for contractor logistics support for the C-12 aircraft for Pacific Air Force, Air Force Material Command, Defense Intelligence Agency, and Defense Security Corporation Agency, consisting of maintenance, repair, and support functions for seven months from April 1, 2011 through Oct. 31, 2011. Work will be performed at L3 Communications Vertex Aerospace, Madison, Miss. OC-ALC/GKSKH, Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 03/23/11)

Vision to announce new destinations

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. - Vision Airlines plans to announce new destinations Friday. In December the airline launched direct flights from Northwest Florida Regional Airport to Niagara Falls, N.Y., and Miami. On Friday it will expand service to 10 additional destinations, with five more to start the following week. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 03/23/11)

Turkish supplier sends first duct

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. - Turkish Aerospace Industries, Inc., a major international F-35 Joint Strike Fighter supplier to Northrop Grumman, has delivered its first production air inlet duct for the jet. The all-composite duct, a major structural element of the F-35's center fuselage, will support Northrop Grumman's production of F-35 center fuselages for conventional takeoff and landing variants at its aerospace production facility in Palmdale, Calif. TAI produced the air inlet duct at its composites manufacturing facility in Ankara, Turkey, as part of a five-year, $28.4 million contract awarded to the company in September 2009 by Northrop Grumman, a principal subcontractor of the Lockheed Martin-led F-35 industry team. (Source: Globe Newswire, 03/22/11) Gulf Coast note: Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the JSF training center.

Marines take to air to prep for F-35

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - Marine aviators of Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 completed four sorties this week in F-16 Fighting Falcons to ensure readiness and efficiency in the transition to the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter. The F-16s from Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., were brought to the 33rd Fighter Wing because of its flying characteristics are similar to the F-35. The Marine variant of JSF, the F-35B, contains a short take-off and vertical landing engine. The STOVL variant will replace the Marine Corps inventory of F/A-18s and AV-8s. The F-35B will be the world's first operational supersonic STOVL aircraft. Eglin Air Force Base is home of the JSF training center. (Source: AFNS, 03/21/11)

AJ26 tested over weekend

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - NASA supported acceptance testing Saturday on an Aerojet AJ26 flight engine that will power the first stage of Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Taurus II space launch vehicle. The test of the AJ26 engine supports Orbital Sciences' effort to demonstrate its commercial cargo transportation system in preparation for future International Space Station cargo resupply missions. NASA has partnered with Orbital as part of the agency's ongoing Commercial Orbital Transportation Services initiative. The test on the E-1 Test Stand at NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center was performed by a team of Orbital, Aerojet, and Stennis engineers. Once test data has been reviewed and verified, the engine will be sent to the Wallops Flight Facility launch site in Virginia for integration with the Taurus II rocket's first-stage core. Orbital is scheduled to carry out the first of eight cargo missions to the space station in early 2012. (Source: NASA, 03/21/11)