Raytheon to realign segments

Raytheon Technologies plans to realign its four current businesses into three focused segments – Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney and Raytheon – in part to drive the company’s technology synergies, market growth and financial targets. Christopher Calio, COO at Raytheon, will assume more responsibilities as president of the Arlington, Va.-based defense contractor on March 1 and lead the realignment, which is planned for in the second half of 2023, Raytheon said Jan. 24. By leveraging its scale, Raytheon plans to "deliver enhanced customer solutions and unlock cost savings opportunities with improved resource allocation and a streamlined footprint,” said Calio. Calio's experience includes having served as president of Pratt & Whitney and multiple positions at United Technologies Corp. At an earnings call on Jan. 24, Raytheon Chairman/CEO Greg Hayes said the restructuring will enable the firm to align with the needs of customers and “better collaborate on next-generation technology.” (GovWire 01/25/23)

Gulf Coast Note: Raytheon Intelligence & Space has a 445K sf manufacturing facility in Forest, Miss. - with over 1,000 employees - delivering radar, jammer and other RF technology products. 

Gulfport Homes earn BBC awards

GULFPORT, Miss. - Personnel from Naval Construction Battalion Center's (NCBC) Gulfport Homes were presented prestigious awards at Balfour Beatty Communities' (BBC) annual conference in Orlando, Fla. Jessica Ladner was named Community Manager of the Year. Mike Harper represented the base's Facilities Team of the Year. Courtney Collier, BBC regional community director, was named Future Leader Developer among all 18 BBC Navy properties. “I’m very grateful for the partnership" with BBC, says Capt. Jeff Powell, NCBC commanding officer, and the "way they support our military families.” (NCBC 01/23/23) DVIDS - News - NCBC Gulfport Homes Honored with National Awards (dvidshub.net) 

USACE foursome to be honored

VICKSBURG, Miss. -Four U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE) employees in the Vicksburg District were selected to receive a Modern-Day Technology Leader Award at the 2023 Black Engineer of the Year Awards (BEYA) Conference in February. Resa Holmes, Willie Thomas, Jonathan Malone and Jasmine Ford will be recognized for their outstanding innovation, creativity, leadership and commitment to the future of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The awardees were chosen by a peer review selection committee. The 2023 BEYA STEM Community recognizes STEM accomplishments, promotes diversity and inclusion, offers educational and developmental opportunities and provides recruiting and hiring opportunities for defense industry partners, corporations and federal/military organizations. The mission is to inspire next-generation scientists and engineers. (USACE Vicksburg 01/24/23) USACE Vicksburg District employees named Modern-Day Technology Leaders > Vicksburg District > News Releases (army.mil)

GC: winds, possible tornadoes

Storms, high winds & possible tornadoes across the Gulf Coast (GC) region. 

NOLA: Local New Orleans Breaking News and Live Alerts - WDSU NewsChannel 6

Delgado Community College in Louisiana is closing ahead of severe weather.

Coastal Mississippi: ALERT DAY: Strong storms possible Tuesday night into Wednesday morning (wlox.com) 

Jackson area: Weather Alerts (wlbt.com) 

Acadiana, La.: Tuesday's storms will move through in the evening with the arrival of the front in west Acadiana around 5 to 6 o'clock before swinging east and clearing the area by 10 or 11 p.m. Strong storms, damaging winds expected Tuesday evening (katc.com)

GC states' unemployment

Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi were among the states with statistically significant unemployment rate changes from December 2021 to December 2022.

Alabama.........................| 3.1 | 2.8 | -0.3 
Louisiana ......................| 4.4 | 3.5 | - .9 

Mississippi ....................| 4.7 | 4.0 | -.7  

(US Bureau of Labor Statistics 01/24/23) State Employment and Unemployment Summary - 2022 M12 Results (bls.gov)

HII: 26 STEM grants to schools

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division awarded $100,000 in grants to 26 evenly distributed STEM-related initiatives from schools and educational organizations located in Mississippi and Alabama. The STEM awards are distributed annually and are used to further the education of science, technology, engineering and math. "STEM plays a vital role in our success,” Ingalls Shipbuilding President Kari Wilkinson said, "as we continue to develop our next generation of shipbuilders." In the past decade, Ingalls has awarded more than $1.1 million for teacher training and projects. The Moss Point (Miss.) Career and Technical Education Center is one of this year’s STEM grant recipients and has plans to strengthen their students’ STEM skills by building underwater remote operated vehicles. The Ingalls’ STEM awards attracted 85 applications this grant cycle. The next application cycle will open in August at the beginning of the 2023 academic school year and end in October. (HII 01/24/23) https://hii.com/news/hii-ingalls-shipbuilding-grants-stem-awards-2023.

Boeing electronics expands in AL

Boeing officially cut the ribbon on Jan. 23 for a 9K sf expansion of its Huntsville, Ala., electronics manufacturing center that builds key parts of missile defense systems. Boeing’s Electronics Center of Excellence is located near the Huntsville International Airport where it builds circuit boards for the Patriot Advanced Capability 3 (PAC-3) seeker missile. P3 Seekers are guidance systems using infrared light beams to track and follow enemy aircraft. Seeker electronics produced here are deployed to U.S. troops globally. The Huntsville center has produced “tens of thousands of circuit cards” for those systems, says Kay Sears, Boeing vice president and general manager of Space, Intelligence & Weapon Systems. These specialized circuit boards are also used in NASA’s Space Launch System, International Space Station and the Minute Man Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, Boeing leaders said. (AL.com 01/23/23) Boeing opens high-tech Huntsville defense lab expansion - al.com 

Gulf Coast Note: Stennis Space Center in Mississippi will begin a certification test series in the 1Q of 2023 for a full RS-25 certification engine manufactured by Aerojet Rocketdyne. The redesigned engines are being built to power the SLS rocket for Artemis V and beyond. Stennis was also a key figure in the Artemis 1 uncrewed launch around the Moon and back.

Rep. Guest chair of ethics panel

WASHINGTON - House of Representatives' Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy announced Jan. 23 that Rep. Michael Guest of Mississippi's 3rd District has been chosen to serve as Chairman of the House's Committee on Ethics. The Committee is bipartisan and comprised of 10 members 5 GOP & 5 Dems). The committee provides mandatory ethics training; investigates alleged violations of the House rules; and reviews financial disclosure statements. Guest had been serving as acting head of the committee since Aug. 19 following the death of ranking-member Jackie Walorski. (WTOK 01/23/23) 

*Prior to being elected to Congress, Guest was district attorney for both Madison and Rankin counties. He has a bachelor's degree from Mississippi State University and a law degree from the University of Mississippi.

Navy force protection exercise

 NAS Meridian, Miss., news and notes from base newspaper Skyline of Jan. 20.

* Naval Air Station Meridian will participate in an annual anti-terrorism force protection Exercise Citadel Shield-Solid Curtain 2023 (CS-SC23), set for Jan. 31-Feb. 11. All Navy installations in the U.S. will be participating, including NCBC Gulfport, Miss.; NAS/JRB New Orleans; and NW Florida. Measures have been taken to minimize disruptions to neighbors and local community, but there may be times when the exercise causes increased traffic or delays to base access. Residents may also see or hear security activities associated with the exercise. Do not be alarmed. The exercise is designed to enhance the readiness of Navy security forces and ensure interoperability among commands, other services and agency partners. Exercise CS-SC2e is not in response to any specific threat but is a regularly scheduled exercise. Advanced coordination has taken place with local law enforcement and first responders. 

* Training Squadron Seven (VT-7) held a change command Jan. 21 at which time, Cmdr. R Dylan Porter was relieved by Cmdr. Gregory Enzinger. Cmdr. Bradley Thompson becomes the incoming executive officer.

'Purple Up' for military children

Capt. Jeff Powell, Naval Construction Battalion Command Gulfport, Miss., commanding officer, was among speakers at last week’s Installation Commander’s Conference at which time Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed a proclamation recognizing April 2023 as Month of the Military Child. The proclamation also recognizes April 19 as “Purple Up for Military Kids Day” when communities are being encouraged to wear purple to thank military children for their service. (NCBC 01/18/23)

Stennis: Focus on '23 testings

As NASA continues its mission to explore the universe, Stennis Space Center, Miss., is moving forward in 2023 with propulsion test projects for the agency, Defense Department and commercial partners. NASA took a major step in toward moving closer to a permanent deep space presence with the Artemis I mission. NASA Stennis played a key role in that effort. 

But now, the focus is on 2023 testing activity. 

*A certification test series will begin in the first quarter on a full RS-25 certification engine manufactured by Aerojet Rocketdyne. The redesigned engines are being built to power the SLS rocket for Artemis V and beyond.

*Stennis teams continue modifications at the B-2 Test Stand for future Green Run testing of the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS), which is expected to fly on Artemis IV. The mods being developed are to provide larger cargo and propulsion for deep space missions. 

* Stennis will conduct its first in-space demonstration to showcase the expertise of the Autonomous Systems Lab (ASL) team and capabilities of ASL’s NASA Platform for Autonomous Systems. 

The four-stand E Test Complex at Stennis will continue providing value to commercial companies. 

* Relativity Space occupies two of the four stand and is constructing its Terran-R Test Complex adjacent to the E Test site.

* Rocket Lab has entered into a partnership agreement with Stennis to develop the A-3 Test Stand area on 24 acres into its Archimedes Test Complex, named for its new rocket engine that will power the reusable Neutron rocket. 

* Stennis will also continue testing for Virgin Orbit and Ursa Major, and will begin a new suite of tests for Blue Origin and Venus Aerospace. (Stennis Space Center 01/23/23) NASA’s Stennis Space Center Set for Active Propulsion Testing Year | NASA

Congress Oks LMR restoration

Congress has authorized the creation of a $40M ecological restoration program for the Lower Mississippi River - first federal program for the 1,000-mile length of river downstream of Cape Girardeau, Mo. Environmental advocates have lobbied for years for a program that would mirror a decades-old counterpart in the upper basin. The program was included in the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), which authorizes flood control, navigation and ecosystem restoration projects, and approved in December. The program will be up for appropriations later this year. The Lower Mississippi River Basin Demonstration Program will prioritize projects in some key areas: Aquatic ecosystem restoration and flood risk. It will prioritize projects that improve water quality, reduce hypoxia in the lower river and Gulf of Mexico. Legislation requires the Army Corps of Engineers to develop a Lower Mississippi River Restoration Plan for presentation to Congress within two years. Non-federal entities will be able to apply for project funding. The Corps will front 75% and assist with design and construction. The Corps still has two years to sort out the parameters for eligible projects. The Corps was also ordered by Congress in 2020 to develop a Lower Mississippi River Comprehensive Management Study aimed at all water use issues along the river that Louisiana and Mississippi have been attempting to get the Corps to address. That includes adjustments in how the Bonnet Carre Spillway and Morganza Floodway are used during high river events. Completion of that 5-year study has been delayed because of the Corps' insistence that half its $25M cost be paid by non-federal sponsors, primarily Louisiana. The WRDA bill included language requiring the study be 100% at federal cost. (NOLA.com 01/23/23) Congress approves lower Miss. River eco-restoration program | Environment | nola.com

Talk a mile in my shoes

A study conducted by online learning platform Preply has determined it takes Gulf Coast regional residents longer to tell stories than those in other parts of the country. But it's not just because Mississippians love to embellish. Preply placed Mississippi the third slowest-talking state behind #1 Louisiana, based on analysis of the rate of syllables per second (5.09) people across the nation produce when speaking. Louisiana is the slowest-talking state averaging 4.78 syllables per second. Mississippi is third at 4.82 syllables per second.” Preply took data from studies on caption files on YouTube videos and the speech rate on more than four million telephone calls. The findings, which can be viewed here, confirm longstanding stereotypes and even contradict other notions. The Southeast and SW are the only regions that aren’t included among the states with the fastest talkers (Minnesota @ 5.34 and Midwest states). The Southeast has seven states for the slowest talkers, Alabama was #4. For those who think New Yorkers talk at lightning speed, research suggests they #1 for talking the most - not the fastest. California was #2. The least talkative states were Iowa, and Minnesota. (Clarion Ledger 01/23/23) Mississippi ranks as third slowest-talking state in the nation (clarionledger.com)

SPY-6 humming @ HII-Ingalls

ARLINGTON, Va. - Following successful at-sea trials of its SPY-6 radar in the Gulf of Mexico, Raytheon Technologies is planning for more tests of other variants of the radar later this year. SPY-6 was operated at sea for the first time in December, aboard the future destroyer Jack H. Lucas, which departed from Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss., for its alpha (initial) trials, a series of at-sea tests before a ship is delivered to the Navy. The Air and Missile Defense Radar, the SPY-6 V1, with four large radar faces, had to be tightly fitted into the ship along with the Lockheed Martin-made Aegis Combat System. “(W)e really hit a home run with the performance," Mike Mills, SPY-6 program director for Raytheon, told Defense News. There were a couple of things the team saw during the trials that will have to be fixed before the next round of at-sea testing and for its V2 and V3 radars into 2024. The first of those tests will later in 2023. The future amphibious transport dock Richard M. McCool Jr. has its V2 radar already installed. The Ingalls team will activate it with a couple of months, Mills said. Once it's up and running, the team can prepare for the first at-sea trials scheduled for this summer. The V2 and V3 systems use the same radar face, but V2 uses a single rotating face and the V3 uses three fixed faces to achieve 360-degree coverage. Its V4 medium-sized four-face radar is being backfit onto the Flight IIA destroyers at Ingalls, Mills said, and work is underway to rip out the SPY-1 radar and installing SPY-6. Several lessons have already emerged. Mills said production is humming, and the firm is ready to respond to any changes to the shipbuilding plan, including additional Flight III destroyers Congress asked the Navy to buy in FY 2023. (Defense News 01/16/23) Raytheon preparing for more radar milestones after first at-sea test (defensenews.com) 
Previous story on this site - Central Mississippi to Central Louisiana: Ingalls installing SPY-6 radars (goldentriangleregion.blogspot.com)

Kiewit acquires Weeks Marine

Kiewit Corporation completed its acquisition Jan. 1 of Weeks Marine and its subsidiaries Healy Tibbitts Builders, McNally International and North American Aggregates for an undisclosed amount. The Weeks Marine and Kiewit organizations have worked on joint ventures since the 1960s. Weeks Marine and subsidiaries will be independently branded subsidiaries of Kiewit. (Weeks Marine 01/01/23) Weeks Marine, Inc. joins Kiewit Corporation - Weeks Marine 

Gulf Coast Note: Weeks Marine is HQ'd out of New Jersey, but has regional facilities located in Covington, Bourg and Houma, La.

Navistar-Polish sales agreement

MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich. - Navistar Defense announced the signing of a sales agreement on Jan. 16 with Polski Holding Obronny (PHO) enabling the U.S. company to provide parts to support vehicles used in Ukraine and the Eastern European region. With the instability in Eastern Europe, Navistar wants to "ensure that U.S. allies have access to innovative vehicles and solutions" to protect and support military, law enforcement and humanitarian missions," said Ted Wright, CEO of Navistar Defense. Under the agreement, Navistar will provide genuine Original Equipment Manufacturer and aftermarket spare parts for militarized off-the-shelf and tactical vehicles. PHO will facilitate vehicle sales in the Eastern European. It is Navistar Defense's first step towards providing training, logistics and service support in the region. The meeting is a clear signal that Poland continues to modernize its Armed Forces, said Artur Gocel, president of PHO. Poland is a member of NATO's eastern flank. PHO will cooperate with Navistar in the sale of spare parts for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles and vehicles manufactured by Navistar. MRAP is a military armored vehicle manufactured to protect the crew against possible explosions. 

Navistar is HQ'd in Madison Heights, Mich., where it manufactures tactical wheeled and commercial off-the-shelf military vehicles and adjacent battlefield systems for the U.S. and NATO allies. It provides contract manufacturing services at its facility in West Point, Miss. (Navistar 01/16/23) Navistar Defense - newsandevents

NASA Day of Remembrance

NASA will honor members of its spaceflight family who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery, including the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, leading up to, and during, the agency's annual Day of Remembrance on Jan. 26. This year’s NASA Day of Remembrance precedes the 20th anniversary of the Columbia accident on Feb. 1. NASA will host a town hall at the agency’s HQ in Washington at 11:30 a.m. CST on Jan. 24. The town hall will stream live on NASA TV, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. (NASA 01/20/23) 

Gulf Cost Note: Columbia mission specialist Dr. Laurel Clark, a Navy flight surgeon, was among the seven killed aboard the STS-107 mission. Dr. Clark was a colleague of mine at NAS Pensacola, Fla. She was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor and promotion to the rank of captain.

La. OKs multimillion tax breaks

The Louisiana Board of Commerce and Industry unanimously approved multimillion-dollar tax breaks for a pair of industrial projects in Plaquemines and Caldwell parishes for Venture Global LNG and Louisiana Green Fuels. Venture Global received a $29.8M payroll rebate over 10 years for its $14.4B Plaquemines LNG terminal. It's not the first state tax break for the LNG. In 2016, the board OK'd an Industrial Tax Exemption Program contract for $83.5M for the LNG terminal, according to state records. The terminal is expected to create 413 direct jobs with a total payroll of $497M over 10 years. It is expected to come online in 2024. In Caldwell Parish, the board approved an Improved Turbine Engine Program (ITEP) contract for the $1.95B Louisiana Green Fuels plant in Columbia. The company will be free from paying $33.5M in property taxes while only putting in $8.38M for the first year of its contract. The plant, which will convert wood waste into “renewable” diesel, is expected to create five permanent jobs at a total payroll of $250,000 along with 1,050 construction jobs. (NOLA.com 01/20/23) Multimillion-dollar tax breaks approved for Plaquemines LNG, Louisiana Green Fuels | Business News | nola.com

MS bill to prevent EV direct sales

The Mississippi House of Representations approved, by a 104-7 vote, legislation prohibiting electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers from selling directly to customers and sending HB 401 to the Senate. Currently, Mississippi requires a dealer license to sell vehicles. However, there’s no language restricting a manufacturer (as Tesla did almost 10 years ago) from obtaining a license and selling directly rather than going through a franchise dealership. HB 401 would change that and setting a precedent for other EV manufacturers attempting to threaten the dealership-model America has had since the 1940s. Rep Trey Lamar (R-Senatobia), who authored the bill, calls it clarification stating that "if you’re going to do business in Mississippi selling automobiles, you will do it through an independent dealer just the same way as ... all these guys (like GM) have to do business.” Josh Hazel, president of the Tesla Owners’ Club of Mississippi, argues that as the EV footprint is expected to surpass 10% this year and a bill preventing direct sales would infringe on the free-market approach, which many politicians pride themselves on, and future economic opportunity. Turning business away and closing Mississippi to the market is "just bad business,” Hazel said. (SuperTalk Mississippi 01/20/23)

Regional job at Lockheed-MS

Production Assembler - Structures: Stress Analyst Engineer Senior at Lockheed Martin Corporation in Meridian, Miss. Production Assembler - Structures Job in Meridian, MS at Stress Analyst Engineer Senior at Lockheed Martin Corporation (ziprecruiter.com)