Shelby: Airbus still eyeing Mobile

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - EADS is looking into whether it's feasible to build commercial airplanes in Mobile, Ala. That's according to U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala. In an interview with the Birmingham News after a symposium address, Shelby said that while EADS didn't win the competition against Boeing to build tankers for the Air Force -- a loss that ended EADS' plans to put an assembly plant in Mobile -- the senator said EADS's Airbus may end up building commercial airplanes in Mobile. "They're looking to see if it's feasible," Shelby said. Shelby was a participant at a symposium in Tuscaloosa hosted by GE Aviation, which is building an engine coatings plant in Auburn. (Source: Birmingham News, 09/30/11) Gulf Coast note: GE Aviation also has an engine components plant in Batesville, Miss., and is building another one near Hattiesburg in South Mississippi.

Contract: L-3 Vertex, $139M

L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace LLC of Madison, Miss. is being awarded a $138,968,513 firm fixed price contract modification to exercise FY12 options for logistics support for the T -1A aircraft at Pensacola Naval Air Station, Fla., and several Air Force bases. Services included are contractor operated maintained supply, over and above, on-equipment, maintenance, data and field services representatives. This action is to exercise option period 1, Oct. 1, 2011 through Sept. 30, 2012. OC-ALC/GKSKA, Tinker Air Force Base, Okla. is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/30/11)

Contract: Sikorsky, $49.6M

Sikorsky Support Services Inc., Pensacola, Fla., is being awarded a $49,578,210 modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery, requirements contract to exercise an option 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, Fla. Work will be performed in Corpus Christi, Texas (50 percent), Whiting Field, Fla. (39 percent), Pensacola, Fla. (8 percent), and various sites within the continental United States (3 percent).Work is expected to be completed in February 2012. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/30/11)

Fire Scout completes flight on biofuel

U.S. Navy photo

PATUXENT RIVER, Md. - The Navy reached a milestone in its quest to gain energy independence today when an MQ-8B Fire Scout, built in part in Mississippi, successfully flew the first unmanned biofueled flight. The Fire Scout was fueled with a combination of JP-5 aviation fuel and plant-based camelina. The biofuel blend reduces carbon dioxide output by 75 percent when compared to conventional aviation fuel. The unmanned helicopter provides situational awareness, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting data to forward deployed warfighter, and can operate from all air capable ships and is currently providing ISR support during its first-land based deployment in U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. Fire Scout is the seventh aircraft to demonstrate the versatility of biofuel through its use in all facets of naval aviation. (Source: NNS, 09/30/11) Gulf Coast note: Fire Scouts are built in part at the Unmanned Systems Center in Moss Point, Miss.

Vitter: Michoud will build SLS components

NASA has chosen Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans to build components of its new heavy-lift rocket, according to Sen. David Vitter, R-La. Vitter released a statement today saying the decision is "big big news for southeast Louisiana." Earlier this month NASA unveiled the design of the rocket. NASA plans to build several components at Michoud, including manufacturing core stage and upper stage, the instrument ring and integrating engines with core and upper stages. (Source: Sen. David Vitter, 09/29/11) Stennis Space Center, Miss., is testing the engines for the SLS.

Hawk trainer to visit AF bases

Hawk is prepared for flight to the BAE Systems
facility in Crestview, Fla.   BAE Systems photo

Two United Kingdom Royal Air Force Hawk Advanced Jet Trainers will demonstrate their advanced capabilities at U.S. Air Force bases nationwide, according to BAE Systems Inc. BAE is offering the Hawk AJTS as the replacement for the T-38 trainer as part of the U.S. Air Force’s T-X program. BAE announced last week that it will be the prime contractor and Northrop Grumman will serve as the manufacturing partner for the new Hawk aircraft, which will be built in the United States. (Source: BAE Systems via Business Wire, 09/29/11) Gulf Coast note: Although BAE and Northrop are mum about where the Hawk would be built, Aviation Week reports that Northrop has been hoping to secure work for its Lake Charles, La., plant.

NASA tests commercial AJ26 engine

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - Engineers at NASA's Stennis Space Center conducted a test of an Aerojet AJ26 flight engine Sept. 28 that will power the first stage of Orbital Sciences Corp's Taurus II space launch vehicle. The AJ26 engine test supports Orbital's development activities to provide commercial cargo resupply flights to the International Space Station that are scheduled to begin in 2012. The company is scheduled to demonstrate its Taurus II rocket and its Cygnus cargo transportation system in a mission scheduled for later this year under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) research and development initiative. The test on the E-1 Test Stand was performed by a team of Orbital, Aerojet and Stennis engineers. Data from the test will be reviewed and verified before the engine is delivered to the Wallops Flight Facility launch site in Virginia for installation on the Taurus II rocket's first-stage core. (Source: NASA, 09/28/11)

NASA conducts J-2X test

NASA/SSC photo

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - NASA conducted a 40-second test of the J-2X rocket engine Sept. 28, the most recent in a series of tests of the next-generation engine selected as part of the Space Launch System designed to carry humans into deep space. It was a test at the 99 percent power level to gain a better understanding of start and shutdown systems as well as modifications that had been made from previous test firing results. The test came two weeks after NASA announced plans for the new SLS to be powered by core-stage RS-25 D/E and upper-stage J-2X engines. The liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen J-2X is being developed for NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne. (Source: NASA, 09/28/11)

Contract: Amherst Systems, $11.4M

Amherst Systems Inc., Buffalo, N.Y., is being awarded an $11,400,000 maximum firm-fixed-price contract to provide sustaining engineering services support (SESS) on government-owned B-1, B-2, B-52, and fighter test facilities' threat simulations. SESS will consist of recurring and non-recurring engineering tasks in support of the combat electromagnetic environment simulators and the advanced multiple environment simulators threat simulators located in various test facilities. AAC/PKES, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/27/11)

Contract: Lockheed Martin, $187M

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded an $187,000,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to a previously awarded advance acquisition contract. This modification provides additional funding for recurring sustainment support, and system engineering sustainment activities necessary to meet the requirement and delivery schedule of this low rate initial production, lot five, F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Work will be performed in Eglin, Fla. (60 percent); Fort Worth, Texas (15 percent); El Segundo, Calif. (5 percent); Warton, United Kingdom (5 percent); Orlando, Fla. (5 percent); Nashua, N.H. (5 percent); and Baltimore, Md. (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in May 2012. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/27/11)

Contract: Rolls-Royce Defense, $99.9M

Rolls-Royce Defense Services Inc., Indianapolis, Ind., is being awarded a $99,919,152 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price requirements contract to exercise an option for intermediate and depot-level maintenance and related support for in-service T-45 F405-RR-401 Adour engines under the power-by-the-hour arrangement. In addition, this modification provides for inventory control, sustaining engineering and configuration management, as well as integrated logistics support and required engineering elements necessary to support the F405-RR-401 engine at the organization level. Work will be performed at the Naval Air Station (NAS) Kingsville, Texas (48 percent); NAS Meridian, Miss. (47 percent); NAS Pensacola, Fla. (4 percent); and NAS Patuxent River, Md. (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in September 2012. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/27/11)

Contract: Intergraph Gvt Solutions, $9.9M

Intergraph Government Solutions, Madison, Ala., is being awarded a $9,950,000 firm-fixed-price, time-and-material contract for procurement of information technology engineering systems, hardware, software, systems integration/design, and software development support services, related training, maintenance, and spare parts. Work will be performed in Philadelphia, Pa.; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Hampton Roads, Va.; Puget Sound, Wash.; and Kittery, Maine. Work is expected to be completed by September 2011. This contract was not awarded through full and open competition. Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support, Mechanicsburg, Pa., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/27/11)

Contracts: L-3 Vertex, $123.1M; $23.6M

L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace LLC., Madison, Miss., is being awarded a $123,180,168 modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery, requirements contract to exercise an option for logistics services and materials for organizational, intermediate, and depot-level maintenance required to support 36 T-45A, and 168 T-45C, aircraft based at Naval Air Station (NAS) Meridian, Miss.; NAS Kingsville, Texas; NAS Pensacola, Fla., and NAS Patuxent River, Md. This requirement also includes the organizational level maintenance for the engine. Work will be performed in Kingsville, Texas (57 percent); Meridian, Miss. (36 percent); Pensacola, Fla. (6 percent); and Patuxent River (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in September 2012. In addition, the company is being awarded a $23,539,003 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery requirements contract for contractor logistics support and Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department (AIMD) support for the T-39 Undergraduate Military Flight Officer (UMFO) Training Program. This effort includes support of the UMFO government-owned T-39N and T-39G aircraft and associated equipment, including organizational and depot-level repair. In addition, this provides intermediate level maintenance and support for Chief of Naval Air Training aircraft, transient aircraft, tenant, and other services activities at the Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Fla., and NAS Corpus Christi, Texas, and surrounding areas through the AIMD. Work will be performed in Pensacola, Fla. (75 percent), and Corpus Christi, Texas (25 percent), and is expected to be completed in March 2012. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.302-1. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity for both awards. (Source: DoD, 09/27/11)

F-35 inches closer to training role

Four F-35s at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., could be flying next month, according to Aviation Week. F-35 program officials are awaiting a clearance from the procurement community to begin flight operations at Eglin, a step closer to pilot training. The Air Force’s Aeronautical Systems Center in Ohio, which oversees procurement of service aircraft, are reviewing data collected during a period of "maturity flights" using two conventional-takeoff-and-landing F-35As at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Tom Burbage, executive vice president of F-35 integration at Lockheed Martin, says he hopes to have the first F-35 flying at Eglin by Oct. 31. The four F-35As at Eglin right now are supporting maintenance training. (Source: Aviation Week, 09/27/11)

Eglin chosen for installation award

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - For the second year in a row, Air Force Materiel Command selected Eglin Air Force Base for the Commander-in-Chief's 2012 Annual Award for Installation Excellence. "This is a tremendous honor," said Col. Sal Nodjomian, the 96th Air Base Wing commander. "Our Team Eglin warriors produce award-worthy work each and every day ... whether it's bedding down our new mission partners, providing world-class medical support, training tomorrow's warriors, or turning jets on the flightline." Eglin will compete against other command winners for the Air Force level award. Each finalist base will be visited by an inspection team next year. The winner is traditionally announced in April. (Source: Team Eglin Public Affairs, 09/27/11)

Contract: L-3 Vertex, $11.3M

L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace, Madison, Miss., is being awarded an $11,345,639 firm-fixed-price contract modification for trainer maintenance at Sheppard Air Force-Base, Texas, and satellite site at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla. This action is to exercise option period one, Oct. 1, 2011 through Sept. 30, 2012. 82nd Contracting Squadron/LGCA, Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/26/11)

NASA restructuring contracting program

NASA is restructuring its contracting program as the agency's missions change. Contractors are anticipating a new initiative worth millions over nearly 10 years. The initiative, known as the Test and Operations Support Contract, covers ground systems work now being done by Boeing and the United Space Alliance. The new program would provide NASA with services related to managing the ground systems used for flight launches, such as maintaining equipment, overseeing landings and performing simulations and experiments. (Source: Washington Post, 09/25/11) Gulf Coast note: In this region NASA has Stennis Space Center, Miss., and Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans.

GE Aviation encouraged about future

Ohio-based GE Aviation is marking 40 years in the commercial aviation business and feeling good about the future. The company landed orders for more than $27 billion in engines and services at the Paris Air Show in June, and GE Aviation is ramping up production. It added 1,000 jobs across its U.S. manufacturing operations over the past three years and plans to add another 1,000 over the next three years. That includes 200 jobs in Dayton, Ohio, 400 new jobs at two component plants in Mississippi and 400 more across its 20 U.S. operating plants. (Source: Cincinnati Enquirer, 09/25/11) Gulf Coast note: One of the Mississippi plants is in Ellisville, near Hattiesburg.

Aero medical lab moves to Ohio

PENSACOLA, Fla. - A long-time member of Naval Air Station Pensacola closed its doors earlier this month for points north. The Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory closed Sept. 2 and moved to new facilities at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. The move of the lab, which employed 65, was dictated by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission in 2005. Wright-Patterson is headquarters of the Air Force Research Laboratory. (Source: Pensacola News Journal, 09/25/11)

Contract: Jacobs Technology, $42.4M

Jacobs Technology Inc., Fort Walton Beach, Fla., is being awarded $42,442,430 under a previously awarded contract. This effort is for the continuity of services contract to continue information technology services until the transition to the next generation Enterprise Network is accomplished. Work will be performed in Quantico, Va., and is expected to be completed in June 2014. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposals with two offers received. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 09/23/11)