Reno project collaborates with MSU

Two novel research projects underway at the University of Nevada-Reno are designed to improve materials used in manufacturing and enhance fuel efficiency for airplanes and automobiles. Bin Li, assistant professor of materials science and engineering, has received two National Science Foundation grants to support his work in computational materials science. Li’s combining of computer simulation and experimental work to better understand advanced high-strength steels and lightweight magnesium alloys may be used for aerospace and automotive manufacturing. Li's grant, which he is leading in collaboration with Mississippi State University, will investigate how zinc coating interacts with steel. (Source: University of Nevada-Reno 09/29/16) Mississippi Note: Mississippi State University leads a consortium of 13 universities in operating a national center for research on unmanned aircraft systems, encompassing a wide range of applications, from agriculture to homeland security.

CCs to anchor work-training push

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Three North Mississippi community colleges will serve as anchors for a $10.5 million initiative to produce a workforce ready to work in the state's growing aerospace, automotive, and advanced manufacturing sectors, according to U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), and the Appalachian Regional Commission. The senator announced Sept. 30 that the three ARC grant awards for infrastructure and workforce training projects involve East Mississippi Community College, Northwest Mississippi Community College, and Itawamba Community College. The grants are funded through $16 million appropriated by Congress in FY 2016 for ARC to support workforce training programs in southern and south-central Appalachia. (Source: Y’all Politics 09/30/16)

MS firm gets $7.5M AF repair pact

Greenwood RC Construction Co. Inc. and Gene Nims Builders Inc. of Greenwood, Miss., were awarded a $7,576,954 firm-fixed-price contract for renovation and repair of 307th Aircraft Maintenance building at Barksdale AFB in Louisiana. The contractor will provide interior demolition, addition of two elevators, and minor exterior improvements of three separate multi-story structures. Work is expected to be complete by Feb. 28, 2018. The 2nd Contracting Squadron at Barksdale AFB is the contracting activity (FA4608-16-C-0027). (Source: DOD 09/29/16)

$13.6M L-3 aircraft mod contract

L-3 Vertex Aerospace LLC of Madison, Miss., was awarded a $13,674,743 modification to a previously awarded contract for aircraft maintenance and logistical life cycle support for 49 C-12 aircraft. Work will be performed in Corpus Christi, Texas (42%); New Orleans (4); and Iwakuni (4), Kadena (3), Futenma (2) and Misawa (2) in Japan. Work is expected to be completed in December 2016. (Source: DOD 09/29/16)

Greenwood firm depot pact

R.C. Construction Co. of Greenwood, Miss., was awarded a $22,947,483 Navy contract for range safety improvement and modernization at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C. The work provides for modernizing the 50 firing lane Inchon Range. The existing range is being demolished entirely and a new range constructed. Work is expected to be completed by March 2018. (Source: DOD 09/27/16)

T-45 mod pact at NASM

Rolls-Royce Corp. of Indianapolis, Ind., was awarded $62,120,761 modification to a previously awarded Navy contract for intermediate, depot maintenance and related logistics support for approximately 223 Adour engines on T-45 aircraft. Work will be performed at the Naval Air Stations Meridian, Miss. (47%) and Pensacola, Fla. (6%). Work is expected to be completed in March 2017. (Source: DOD 09/27/16)

SECNAV Mabus nearing finale

Former Mississippi Gov. Ray Mabus, who is now the longest serving Navy Secretary since WWI, is nearing the end of a nomadic career in public service. In October, SECNAV will turn 68. The coming change to the presidency in January will mean Mabus’ exit. He grew up in Ackerman, graduated from Ole Miss, earned a master's from Johns Hopkins and left Harvard Law with a degree as magna cum laude. It was all because he grew up in a family that valued knowledge and education. All though much of his past has been in politics, Mabus said he doesn't think any of his future will be in any elected or appointed post. As SECNAV, he has logged 1.3 million miles, but plans to spend more time with his family. Perhaps, he said, they will no longer require him to wear a name tag at family events. (Source: Commercial Dispatch 09/26/16) His position as SECNAV is administrative - no uniforms, ribbons, or salutes. But what he described as a "cool" perk is authority to name ships. Sometimes "memos" come from Congress with "suggestions" for ship names, but otherwise, from the days of George Washington, secretaries have named ships.

PCU meets MoH winner Hudner

Sailors assigned to Pre-Commissioning Unit Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) visited with the ship's namesake Sept. 24 in Boston. "It's not every day that you get to meet a Medal of Honor recipient and the namesake of your ship,” said Chief Fire Controlman David Vendetti. DDG 116 is expected to be commissioned in Boston in fall 2018. The ship is named for retired Navy Capt. Thomas J. Hudner Jr., a naval aviator who received the Medal of Honor for displaying uncommon valor in the Korean War. Hudner was honored for actions taken after his wingman, Ensign Jesse L. Brown, the first African-American naval aviator to fly in combat, was shot down. Hudner purposefully crashed his aircraft in an unsuccessful attempt to rescue Brown. Hudner will be the 66th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer to join the Navy. (Source: Defense Media Activity 09/26/16) Central Mississippi Note: Ens. Brown was a native of Hattiesburg, Miss., and had FFT 1089 named in his honor. The Knox Class Fast Frigate was homeported at former Naval Stations Mobile, Ala., and Pascagoula, Miss., before it was decommissioned and leased under Foreign Military Sale to the Egyptian Navy in 1994 at NAS Pensacola, Fla.

MS firm's $11.6M taxiway pact

RC Construction Co. of Greenwood, Miss., was awarded an $11,638,355 contract to repair Taxiway Delta at Joint Base Charleston. S.C. The contractor will provide all management, labor, material, equipment, transportation, and supervision to accomplish the complete reconstruction of about 3,000 linear feet of taxiway. Work will be performed in Charleston, and is expected to be complete by Sept. 26, 2017. (Source: DOD 09/26/16)

CAFB taking part in student expo

In October, some 7,000 eighth-graders from 17 North Mississippi counties will get a chance to try out a flight simulator from the Columbus Air Force Base, manipulate a medical robot, sit in the cockpit of a 747 airliner, and exploring career options with professionals at the state’s non-profit CREATE Foundation's "Imagine the Possibilities" expo in Tupelo. The expo will be at Bancorp South Arena and Conference Center in Tupelo from Oct. 4-6. Students will have the opportunity to chat with professionals from 18 career pathways – from engineering to health sciences. CAFB is setting up multiple exhibits for eight different pathways. CAFB will have an exhibit for pathways from communication technology to aerospace. The base is also bringing an aircraft simulator and T-38 trainer. For more information on the expo, go to www.createfoundation.com. (Source: Columbus Dispatch 09/22/16)

Jackson gets 1% of CH-53K work

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. of Stratford, Conn., was awarded $232,075,337 modification to a previously awarded Navy contract for the procurement of two CH-53K system demonstration test aircraft. Work will be performed in Connecticut (24%); Jackson, Miss., and Fort Walton Beach, Fla. (1% each); and Miami (0.5%). (DOD 09/23/16)

GTRA to offer pre-check-in program

COLUMBUS, Miss. – There were a number of long security lines at U.S. airports this past summer, but in October the Golden Triangle Regional Airport at Columbus will become the only northern Mississippi destination point to offer TSA’s pre-check-in program. (Source: WVTA 09/22/16)

AHI to exhibit helos in NC

Airbus Helicopters Inc. will exhibit its most efficient helicopters for air medical transportation at the Air Medical Transport Conference in Charlotte, N.C., on Sept. 26-28. On display will be an H135-series helicopter operated by STAT MedEvac, a western Pennsylvania provider of emergency medical service transports. It is an upgraded version of AHI’s twin-engine family of helicopters. Additionally, AHI will exhibit its H130 single-engine helicopter operated by JeffSTAT, a medical transportation service affiliated with the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. (Source: Airbus Helicopters Inc. 09/22/16) AHI is the U.S. affiliate of Airbus Helicopters, and has a large manufacturing and production facility in Columbus, Miss.

L-3 garners $166M mod contract

L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace of Madison, Miss., was awarded a $166,263,229 modification to a previously contract to exercise an option for organizational, intermediate, and depot level maintenance and logistics services in support of approximately 200 T-45 aircraft based at Naval Air Station (NAS) Meridian, Miss.; and NAS Pensacola, Fla. Services include engineering, supply and government property management, and procurement of associated parts and materials required to prepare the aircraft for about 320 launchers per day across, which fly an estimated total of 75,000 hours each year. Work will be performed in Meridian (44 percent); Pensacola (7 percent); and is expected to be completed in September 2017. (Source: DOD 09/19/16)

Privatization services at CAFB

The Defense Logistics Agency-Energy is seeking to identify and obtain information from responsible sources in connection with the acquisition of utility services for the privatization of the water and wastewater/sewer utility systems at Columbus Air Force Base, Miss. (Source: GovTribe.com 09/16/16) CAFB is home to the 14th Flying Training Wing.

Wing’s 1st female fighter pilot

Former Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., T-38 aggressor pilot Maj. Ashley Rolfe has become the first female fighter pilot in the history of the Massachusetts Air National Guard’s 104th Fighter Wing at Barnes ANG Base. Rolfe grew up as an Air Force “brat” around Tyndall AFB and wanted to continue the family legacy of military service set by her father and grandfather. She also flew T-38s during pilot training at Columbus AFB, Miss. The Air Force Academy graduate served on active-duty for 11 years, including a tour at Tyndall where she flew the T-38 aggressor-pilot role as part of the F-22 Raptor fighter program. Women first entered pilot training in 1976; and fighter pilot training in 1993. The Air National Guard has 195 female pilots – only 10 are fighter pilots. (Source: 104th Fighter Wing 08/18/16)

NFL owner buys AHI copter

FRISCO, Texas - Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has chosen a new, customized H145 corporate helicopter for his business transportation tool. Jones purchased the 8-to-10 passenger helicopter from Airbus Helicopters Inc. The firm provides products for air medical transport, law enforcement, airborne tourism, and corporate America. AHI is a major supplier to the Army, Coast Guard, and Customs and Border Protection. AHI is part of the Airbus Group, a global defense and aerospace company. AHI’ headquarters are in Grand Prairie, Texas, with a large manufacturing and production facility in Columbus, Miss. (Source: Airbus Helicopters Inc. 09/08/16)

NASM crash comment ‘speculation’

The cause of a Meridian, Miss., Naval Air Station-based T-45 Goshawk training-jet crash Sept. 7 has not been determined despite a comment from a local ambulance company director that may have suggested pilot error. The Training Air Wing 1 aircraft crashed in a heavily wooded while on a training flight. "They hit the wrong button and were ejected," Metro Ambulance director Clayton Cobler told local media. But Chief of Naval Air Training Public Affairs Officer Lt.j.g. Elizabeth Feaster called Cobler’s statement merely "speculation." "We don't know what happened yet,” she said. An investigation to determine the cause has already begun. Both pilots were transported to local hospitals, but there injuries were not life-threatening. Meridian NAS is the site of advanced jet training for Navy and Marine Corps pilots. Primary naval aviation training is conducted at Whiting Field NAS, Fla.(Source: Clarion-Ledger 09/08/16)

Cuba trade ops summit

Trade opportunities with Cuba will be the topic of a one-day seminar Oct. 20 hosted by the Mississippi Development Authority. The event will be held at The South Warehouse in Jackson. Speakers are to include leaders in Cuba’s corporate banking and international trade sectors; infrastructure and energy sectors; and agriculture, commodities and mining sectors. Cost is $40. Space is limited. The deadline to register is Oct. 3 (online at bit.ly/2c1jyjM). For more information, call (601) 359-9429. (Source: Mississippi Development Authority 09/08/16)

L-3 maintenance option at NASP

L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace of Madison, Miss., was awarded a $13,092,119 contract modification option for maintenance, repair, and logistics support for Chief of Naval Air Training aircraft at Pensacola, Fla., and Corpus Christi, Texas, naval air stations. Sixty percent of the work will be at NAS Pensacola, and is expected to be completed in September 2017, according to the Defense Department. (Source: DOD 09/08/16)

AHI to offer bird-strike option

BEND, Ore. - Airbus Helicopters Inc. and Precise Flight Inc. announced Sept. 8 they have entered into a supply agreement for the Pulselite® Bird Strike Prevention System that will be offered as an option on all AHI models marketed in America. Pulselite® System is an FAA certified lightweight electrical system controller that alternately pulses the landing and auxiliary lights of a helicopter, and increasing its visibility; and reflecting the speed and directional movement of the aircraft. The system has been shown to reduce bird strikes up to 66 percent, according to Precise Flight. Airbus Helicopters Inc. manufactures H125 and UH-72A helicopters. The firm has a large manufacturing and production facility in Columbus, Miss. (Source: PR Newswire 09/08/16)

CAFB fire earns accreditation

Columbus (Miss.) Air Force Base’s Fire Emergency Services has received accredited status with the Commission on Fire Accreditation International through CFAI's voluntary self-assessment and accreditation program. The base’s McAllister Fire Station is the second fire department in the state of Mississippi, as well as the fourth in Air Education and Training Command, to achieve this accredited status. (Source: Columbus Dispatch 09/07/16) Mississippi Note: CAFB is home to undergraduate pilot training under the auspices of the 14th Flying Training Wing of the Air Education and Training Command.

NAS Meridian T-45 crashes

A Navy T-45 training jet crashed Sept. 7 in a heavily wooded area of Meridian (Miss.) Naval Air Station. Navy personnel said the jet was on a routine training flight from Commander Training Air Wing 1. The aviation instructor and student pilot both ejected safely near the NASM airfield. Both were taken to a local medical facility with minor neck and leg injuries, according to Metro Ambulance director Clayton Cobler. (Source: Jackson Clarion-Ledger 09/07/16) Gulf Coast Note: NAS Meridian is the site of advanced jet training for Navy and Marine Corps pilots.

New VP for L-3 aerospace

NEW YORK - L-3 Communications announced Sept. 6 that retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Charles R. “C.R.” Davis has been appointed Senior Vice President of Strategy at the company’s Aerospace Systems business segment, effective immediately. (Business Wire 09/06/16) Mississippi Aerospace Note: L-3 Vertex Aerospace’s Madison, Miss., facilities provide sustainment and support, and aviation and aerospace technical services, for the Defense Department, other U.S. government agencies and foreign governments. While with the AF, Davis worked as commander of the air armament center and program executive officer for weapons at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

Ukraine ambassador at MSU

STARKVILLE, Miss. - Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Valeriy Chaly encouraged a full auditorium to strive to make a difference and keep a global perspective during an Aug. 31 lecture at Mississippi State University. “Every man and woman can make a grand impact on their country,” Chaly said. His lecture, held in the Bost Extension Center, was part of the MSU International Institute’s 2016-17 MSU Global Engagement Lecture Series. The ambassador spent the morning touring MSU’s high-technology research facilities with MSU Vice President for Research and Economic Development David Shaw. (Source: Mississippi State University 08/31/16)