CNO visits shipbuilders

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Adm. Jonathan Greenert, chief of naval operations, was in Pascagoula Thursday visiting Ingalls Shipbuilding and VT Halter Marine. At Ingalls he toured the amphibious assault ship America, LHA 6. Greenert said the amphibious ships Ingalls has built for the Navy have been "doing really well." (Sources: Mississippi Press, Sun Herald, 11/29/12)

X-47B makes history on carrier

X-47B hoisted aboard USS Harry S. Truman
Navy photo

NORFOLK, Va. -- The Navy hoisted an X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator on board aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) Monday in preparation for the unmanned aircraft's first carrier-based testing. The X-47B, built by Northrop Grumman, has a wingspan of more than 62 feet, wider than an F/A-18 Super Hornet. It will undergo a variety of tests and will be controlled remotely via a hand-held unit. Truman will be the first modern aircraft carrier to host test operations for an unmanned aircraft. Capt. Jaime Engdahl, N-UCAS program manager, said the X-47B's delivery aboard Truman was among the most historic moments in the program's history. "The moment the aircraft set down on Truman's deck was the moment it officially met the fleet," said Engdahl. The test will be conducted over three weeks and will include in-port and underway demonstrations. (Source: NNS, 11/27/12) Gulf Coast note: Northrop Grumman builds portions of two other UAVs, Global Hawk and Fire Scout, in Moss Point, Miss.

Contract: Lockheed Martin, $26.6M

Lockheed Martin Global Training and Logistics, Orlando, Fla., is being awarded a not-to-exceed $26,619,869 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Undersea Warfare product support. This contract will cover procurement of Undersea Warfare product support. This includes integrated logistics, training, equipment alteration and installation, fleet support and life cycle support across Undersea Warfare system programs. The initial funding amount applied at contract award is $12,437,878. Work will be performed in California (8 percent); Florida (8 percent); Hawaii (22 percent); Maine (3 percent); Mississippi (3 percent); and Virginia (56 percent), and is expected to be completed by November 2013. Contract funds in the amount of $1,108,294 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1). The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 11/27/12)

Investigator appointed

GULFPORT, Miss. -- NOAA has appointed an enforcement officer to investigate the mutilation and deaths of dolphins in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Richard Stifel, an enforcement officer for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, was named Tuesday. NOAA last week issued a directive asking state and environmental officials to be on watch for incidents. Jurisdictions involved are in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. (Source: Sun Herald, 11/20/12)

Contract: Exelis, $93.3M

Exelis Inc., Alexandria, Va., is being awarded a $93,261,183 indefinite-delivery/indefinite quantity, cost-plus-fixed fee contract, with provisions for cost-plus-fixed-fee orders for the procurement of material and services to design, procure, install and maintain the Adaptive Persistent Awareness Systems. The Adaptive Persistent Awareness Systems is an integrated system that provides command, control, communication, computers and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and persistent awareness. Work will be performed in various naval facilities worldwide and is expected to be completed by November 2017. The Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division, Panama City, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 11/20/12)

LPD 24 completes sea trials

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- The amphibious transport dock Arlington, LPD 24, returned from successful Navy acceptance sea trials late last week. The company's eighth ship in the LPD 17 class returned to Pascagoula following three days of at-sea demonstrations and testing. While in the Gulf of Mexico, there were more than 200 test events. Ingalls has delivered seven ships in the class and has four more in various stages of construction, including Arlington, which will be commissioned next spring. (Source: Globe Newswire, 11/05/12)

Ingalls seeks workers

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. will hold a job fair next week hoping to eventually hire nearly 2,000 workers for Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss. The job fair will be held from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 8 at the Workforce Escarosa One-Stop Center in Pensacola, Fla. Most openings are craftsman positions, including welders, pipefitters, shipfitters, mechanics and crane operators. Ingalls is looking to hire 1,200 people through the end of the year and another 4,000 next year. The company will provide daily van pools from Pensacola to Pascagoula for workers who don't want to relocate. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 11/02/12)

GCRL's McIlwain dies

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. -- Longtime marine biologist Thomas D. McIlwain has died after a three-year battle with cancer. He was 71. McIlwain had a 50-year career and spend most of his time at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory in Ocean Springs, Miss. He retired in 2011. He was credited with helping the lab transition from an independent lab to a part of an academic program at the University of Southern Mississippi. (Source: AP via Mississippi Press, 11/02/12)

Chair for Austal chosen

MOBILE, Ala. -- John "Dugan" Shipway, a retired Navy admiral, has been elected to chair the board of Austal USA in Mobile, effective immediately. Shipway, who spent 35 year in the Navy, joined the Austal USA board in March as an outside director. He will replace Lawrence Cavaiola, the inaugural chairman of Austal's U.S. subsidiary. Austal is under contract with the Navy to build nine joint high-speed vessel under a 10-ship contract and five littoral combat ships. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 11/01/12)