Boeing picks MSU

The Boeing Co. chose Mississippi State University as the host for a research center that will lead development on composites the company will eventually use to build aircraft. The Stitched Resin Infused Composite Research Center will be housed at MSU’s Raspet Flight Research Laboratory. The school in Starkville was selected through a competition. Boeing would provide $3 million in equipment and fund two full-time engineers. The University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg will serve as a technology incubator of next-generation composite material systems. Southern Miss has entered into a new master agreement with the company to accelerate research and development of next generation materials, including polymers and polymer matrix composites. The new agreement builds on an existing relationship between Southern Miss and Boeing, which currently has a research contract to utilize the assets of the Accelerator, the university's business incubator. (Sources: Jackson Clarion Ledger, WMC-5, 05/28/15) Previous

L-3 gets mod Navy helo pact

L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace LLC of Madison, Miss., was awarded a $56,182,753 modification to a previously awarded Navy contract (N00019-13-D-0007) to exercise an option for logistics and depot level services for 119 TH-57 aircraft in support of the Naval Air Training Command's Undergraduate Helicopter Pilot Training Program. Work will be performed at the Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Milton, Fla., and is expected to be completed in May 2016. Funds will be obligated against individual delivery orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 05/26/15)

MDA heading group to east Europe

JACKSON – Mississippi Development Authority officials will lead a delegation of companies on a Central European business development mission to Poland and the Czech Republic from Aug. 31 to Sept. 4. The mission may include an additional stop in a third country. The trip will be a multi-industry mission with prospects in the fields of aerospace, information technology, electrical power systems, telecommunications, automotive and agricultural and medical equipment. Among the top focuses will be the defense sector surrounding the International Defense Industry Exhibition, the largest trade fair dedicated to military equipment in Central and Eastern Europe. For more information visit www.mississippi.org. (Source: Hattiesburg American 05/26/15)

Lockheed Martin small biz outreach

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics is in the process of a second-phased renovation project and is reaching out to small businesses to form a supplier data base for services needed during the renovation period. In an effort to reach those businesses, LMA is conducting a ‘Lunch and Learn’ meeting May 28 at Union Station in Meridian, Miss. The event is open to the public; and small businesses are encouraged to attend. Karmyn Norwood, general manager for Lockheed Martin, will discuss vendor services. LM is widely known for its work in aeronautics, but the company also researches and develops advanced information technology. It’s also one of the world’s largest defense contractors. Register at http://www.mscpc.com] Source: Meridian Star 05/21/15)

Ala. lawmaker to visit AHI

U.S. Rep. Martha Roby, an Alabama congresswoman whose district includes Fort Rucker, the Army’s primary helicopter pilot training facility where Mississippi-built UH-72A Lakota helicopters are being phased into the training regimen will tour Airbus Helicopters Inc.’s production facility in Columbus on May 26. Roby is on the House Appropriations Committee. (Source: Clarion Ledger 05/2/15) Central Mississippi Note: Airbus Helicopters Inc.is producing more than 400 Lakotas for the Army.

Aurora earns Sikorsky gold

STRATFORD, Conn. Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation announced May 13 its 2015 Supplier of the Year awards and 14 Gold Suppliers for best-in-class performance. The 2015 Supplier of the Year in the Industrialization category went to Aurora Flight Sciences, which operates a fabrication and aerostrutures composite final assembly plant in Columbus, Miss., for defense and commercial aerospace customers. Among the 14 Sikorsky Gold Suppliers is the Arnold-Hanafin Corporation, a Boca Raton, Fla.-based engineering services firm that supports tactical and strategic goal objectives with breakthrough engineering and IT contract labor services. A-HC first achieved UTC Gold in 2012. The company first opened its Panama City (Fla.) Low Cost Engineering Design Center in 2011. The companies were recognized at Sikorsky's annual Supplier Summit in West Palm Beach, Fla. Sikorsky is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. and owns Pratt & Whiney, makers of the F135 engine for all variants of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

State’s growing aero industry

Florida has long been the world’s premier gateway to space and the aerospace industry. But a growing number of global aerospace companies are finding competitive advantages needed for success in Mississippi: Affordable operating and energy costs; seamless one-stop permitting process; robust transportation network; proximity to military bases; and a skilled, productive workforce are all assisting businesses position themselves to compete in the market. Mississippi has a long, rich history in the aerospace industry, dating back to the 1930s when Pioneer Aerospace, became the state’s first aerospace company. Since that time, Mississippi’s aerospace industry has grown significantly, and is primed for future prosperity. The state’s well-trained workforce is a primary factor is that accomplishment with partnerships with the state’s 15 community colleges and MSU’s Raspet flight laboratory. Today, Mississippians are producing everything from helicopters to unmanned aerial vehicles to composite jet components. Central Mississippi note: Among the successful aerospace leaders are Airbus Helicopters Inc. of Columbus, GE Aviation, Rolls-Royce, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman and Aurora Flight Sciences. (Business Facilities 05/07/15)

MSU team named COE UAS

The Federal Aviation Administration has chosen the Mississippi State University team as the FAA's Center of Excellence for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (COE UAS). The center will focus on research, education and training in areas critical to integration of unmanned systems into the nation's airspace. The team includes 15 leading UAS and aviation universities. The research areas will include detect and avoid technology, low-altitude operations safety, control and communications, spectrum management, human factors, compatibility with air traffic control operations, and training and certification. Other team members are Drexel University, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Kansas State, Kansas, Montana State, New Mexico State, North Carolina State, Oregon State, University of Alabama in Huntsville, University of Alaska-Fairbanks, North Dakota, and Wichita State. The COE will be able to begin research by September 2015 and be fully operational by January 2016. Once the team develops detailed research plans, the FAA will determine the relationship between the new COE and the six UAS sites the FAA announced last year. The FAA expects COE flight testing to occur at one or more of the existing test sites. (Source: News Wire Mississippi State University 05/08/15) Central Mississippi note: The Gulf Coast region is heavily involved in unmanned systems, including work on the Northrop Grumman Fire Scout and Global Hawk systems.

AHI Lakota modified contract

Airbus Defense and Space Inc. of Herndon, Va., was awarded a $24,012,980 modification (P00878) to multi-year contract W58RGZ-06-C-0194 for mission equipment packages to be cut into the UH-72A Lakota Helicopter production line as part of the Army Aviation Restructure Initiative for training aircraft. Work will be performed at Airbus Helicopter Inc.'s Columbus, Miss., plant with an estimated completion date of July 31, 2017. Fiscal 2014 and 2015 other procurement (Army) funds in the amount of $ 24,012,980 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. (Source: DOD 05/07/15)

MDA biz ops conference

The Mississippi Development Authority’s 2015 Government Procurement Opportunities Conference and Trade Fair is May 5 in Southaven. Businesses are invited to make connections with federal and state purchasing offices and private sector firms at the biennial event, sponsored by MDA and the Mississippi Procurement Technical Assistance Program. Dr. Donna Peebles, associate director of the Office of Small Business Programs of the National Guard Bureau will be the opening-session speaker. Invited federal agencies and defense contractors include: Air Force, Army and Navy installation officials, Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Homeland Security, the VA, Lockheed Martin, Huntington Ingalls Industries and NASA. For more information, call (601) 359-2904. (Source: MDA 04/30/15)

McCullough to lead MDA

Former Tupelo mayor Glenn McCullough Jr. is the new executive director of the Mississippi Development Authority. Gov. Phil Bryant made the announcement April 30 at the Mississippi Economic Council's annual PowerPlay meeting in Jackson. McCullough succeeds Brent Christensen, who is to leave MDA June 1 to take over the Greensboro (NC) Partnership. McCullough, 60, was mayor of Tupelo from 1997-99. Former president Bill Clinton appointed him to the board of the Tennessee Valley Authority afterwards; and former president George W. Bush appointed him TVA chairman of that board in 2001. (Source: Clarion Ledger 04/30/15)