Navistar plant closing next month

WEST POINT, Miss. -- Navistar Defense will suspend production at the plant it opened five years ago that assembled mine resistant vehicles. The 80 workers were told last week that the plant will be idled July 5. The company said the decision came in response to across-the-board federal budget reductions known as the sequester that went into effect on March 1. The plant also produced other related vehicles like armored tow trucks and ambulances for the military. Navistar is headquartered in Warrenville, Ill. (Sources: multiple, including Clarion-Ledger, 06/20/13, Zacks, 06/25/13)

Thailand proposing Lakota buys from AE

Mississippi’s two United States Senators Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker urged the U.S. government to approve a proposed $77 million Foreign Military Sale (FMS) of six UH-72A Lakota Helicopters – built at the Columbus, Miss., Golden Triangle Regional Airport by American Eurocopter -- to Thailand. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified Congress on June 7 of the proposed FMS. The AE-built Lakota’s are primarily used by the Army for non-combat missions including emergency response, border security, and light transport. DSCA reports no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of the proposed sale. The principal contractor will be EADS North America, in Herndon, Va. AE is a subsidiary of EADS North America Holdings. Sources: The Associated Press, June 22, 2013; and the Defense Security Cooperation Agency media release, June 20, 2013.

Contract: Raytheon, $22.4M

Raytheon Co., El Segundo, Calif., is being awarded a $22,361,773 order against a previously issued basic ordering agreement for the procurement of 53 ECP-6279 retrofit kits in support of F/A-18 E/F and EA-18G aircraft. Work will be performed in Forest, Miss. (80 percent), and El Segundo, Calif. (20 percent), and is expected to be completed in July 2015. Fiscal 2013 Aircraft Procurement Navy contract funds in the amount of $22,361,773 are being obligated on this award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 06/13/13)

GEA on the upswing globally

GE Aviation, the world’s largest jet-engine maker and with a pair of jet-engine component manufacturing plants in Mississippi, expects to build 3,800 commercial and military aircraft engines in 2014, according to HQ officials in Cincinnati. Next week, GEA is hosting an analysts meeting in conjunction with the 50th International Paris Air Show. The firm also opened a new engine component plant near Auburn, Ala., in April. Source: Cincinnati.com, June 13, 2013.

State’s aerospace contract teams tight-lipped

Mississippi’s Defense Department contract-rich industry has gone tight-lipped following the revelation that a former government contractor blew the whistle on the National Security Agency for collecting telephone and Internet data on hundreds of millions of Americans. Many worry about privacy, while others are anxious about the ramifications on nation security and the state’s aerospace industry. The Magnolia State has 115 aerospace service contractors and 69 in manufacturing and engineering. The state’s largest include Lockheed-Martin, Northrop-Grumman, Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems, Eaton Aerospace DuPoint DeLisle and L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace. Source: Jackson Clarion-Ledger, June 11, 2013.

MSU aerospace student vying for Miss USA

Mississippi State University aerospace engineering student Paromita Mitra, who will represent the state in the Miss USA Pageant, wants to be the first competitor to explore the universe. Mitra moved with her family to the U.S. from Bangladesh in 1992. At MSU, she is a member of the school’s Space Cowboys Rocket Design Team and is also involved in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. She recently worked as a researcher for a NASA-funded program at MSU’s Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems. The Miss USA Pageant will air Sunday on NBC-TV. Source: Jackson Clarion-Ledger, June 11, 2013.

Magnolia biz delegation heading to Paris

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant and the Mississippi Development Authority will lead a contingent of seven to next week’s Paris Air Show. The delegation has meetings set up with dozens of high-ranking executives to discuss expansion opportunities in the Magnolia State – including some firms that will help supply EADS North America’s Airbus jet assembly line currently under construction in Mobile, Ala. The Aerospace Alliance, an organization that helps market Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi aviation industries to the region, will be hosting a Sunday reception for the delegation on the Seine River in Paris. Source: The Associated Press, June 11, 2013.

Miss.-based Corpsman on Pacific medical mission

Gulfport, Miss., Naval Construction Battalion Center Hospital Corpsman Herber Gutierrez prescribes a pair of reading glasses to Sister Margaret Du Coeur Immaculee of Little Sisters of the Poor nursing home while visiting to donate medical supplies and bedding during Pacific Partnership 2013 stopover in Samoa. Pacific Partnership is the largest disaster response and preparation mission in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo). Source: Naval Public Affairs Support Element, June 5, 2013.

Army team deploying to Afghanistan

The Defense Department identified a Fort Polk, La.-based Army combat team for major-unit deployment as part of the summer’s rotation of forces operating in Afghanistan. The deployment involves an infantry brigade combat team (IBCT) with roughly 1,230 personnel from the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Polk, La. Source: Defense Department, June 7, 2013.

Columbus AFB runway on sked

A $31.29 million concrete construction project on two miles of the center runway at Columbus (Miss.) Air Force Base is about two-thirds complete and tentatively on target for use August 29, according to base officials. It’s the most extensive overhaul since the asphalt runway was originally built in 1959. Lt. Col. David Meissen, commander of the 14th Civil Engineer Squadron at CAFB, said the base's inner and outer runways - as well as runways at Golden Triangle Regional Airport - are being used for pilot training missions. Babcock Construction of Pheba, Miss. – about 19 due west of West Point – is the project's general contractor. Source: Columbus (Miss.) Dispatch, June 8, 2013.

Texas politicos join AE to protect helos

A pair of Texas congressmen joined the leadership of EADS North America, America Eurocopter of Columbus, Miss., and Grand Prairie at a rally-round the jobs campaign Friday in Texas, requesting Congress to restore FY-14 funding 31 Army UH-72A Lakota helicopters. The AE-Columbus plant, with its 300 workers, produces Lakotas for the Army, Army National Guard and Navy at a unit cost of just $5.5 million each. AE-Grand Prairie, with 600 workers, performs engineering changes and modification upgrades to the helicopters. Source: Market Wired, June 7, 2013.

L-3 Vertex gains NASA contract

Madison’s L-3 Vertex Aerospace was chosen for a contract to support the operations of all aircraft at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards AFB and Dryden’s aviation facility in Palmdale, both in California. The contract is to take effect July 1 and covers a base period of 22 months. There are two 1-year options and another 14-month option; and if all exercised, the contract would be for $77.1 million and extend through June 30, 2018. L-3 Vertex Aerospace is responsible for aircraft maintenance and engines; ground support equipment for Dryden's specialized research and support aircraft - motor gliders to ex-military high-performance one-of-a-kind research planes. L-3 Vertex identified subcontractors to include Integration Innovation Inc., of Huntsville, Ala. Source: PR News Wire. June 4, 2013.

Miss. researchers earn DoD tech awards

A pair of Mississippi universities’ researchers was among members of 140 academic institutions nationwide to earn Pentagon’s Defense University Research Instrumentation Program science and technology awards in support of research instrumentation and equipment. The awards total $38.7 million overall and average to about $277,000 each. Mississippi State University associate professor of physics Chuji Wang and University of Mississippi professor of mechanical engineering Prabhakar Mantena were the two Magnolia State recipients. Source: Defense Department, June 3, 2013.

Miss. earns 3rd straight Silver Shovel

Area Development magazine, an economic development publication covering site selection and facility planning, has awarded the State of Mississippi with its 2013 Silver Shovel Award. It is the third straight year for the Magnolia State to be the recipient of the award in the 3 million and under population group. Source: Mississippi Development Agency, May 29, 2013.

Mississippi 9th with biz-development mag

Area Development magazine, for the third straight year, has conducted a survey of nationally-respected location consultants to name their Top 5 states with whom to do business. States were ranked in each of 14 categories. The No. 1 state on the magazine’s Top 10 was Texas – by a wide margin. Regionally, Alabama was fourth followed by Louisiana (6), Tennessee (7) and Mississippi at No. 9. The Magnolia State scored quality marks in competitive utility rates, competitive labor costs, speed of permitting, and overall cost of doing business. Source: Area Development Online, Winter 2013.

Lockheed-Meridian looking for quality manager

Lockheed Martin is advertising for a multifunctional quality process manager to direct and manage its Meridian, Miss., C-130J program. The C-130J “Super” Hurcules is a 4-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. Duties would include coordination and assisting in the resolution of quality issues with the manufacturing production team. The position’s focal point is quality related requirements and procedures; and development and implementation of initiatives to achieve the program’s quality objectives. Source: Lockheed Martin, June 1, 2013.

Mississippi makes economic Top 10

Utah is No. 1 among the 50 states with the best economic outlook in 2013. Florida and Mississippi rank back-to-back to round out the Top 10, according to a new economic data report based on 15 policy areas researched by the American Legislative Exchange Council. The report examines states’ economic trends and outlook based on 2013 data using 15 equally-weighted policy variables, including various tax rates, regulatory burdens and labor policies. Florida ranks at the top of the scale direction - with 1 being best and 50 worst - for having a top marginal personal income tax rate, estate/inheritance tax levied and being a ‘Right To Work’ state. Mississippi, which ranks No. 10 overall, topped the charts in two of those same categories - except the income tax variable. Source: American Legislative Exchange Council, May 23, 2013.