Contract: Lockheed Martin, $7.5M

Lockheed Martin MS2, Moorestown, N.J., was awarded a $7,500,000 modification to previously awarded contract to exercise an option for engineering services for DDG 51 class and CG 47 class Aegis combat system installation, integration and test, and fleet life cycle engineering support for the program executive officer for Integrated Warfare Systems. Some of the work, 1 percent, will be done in Pascagoula, Miss. Half the work will be done in New Jersey, and the rest in Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Ohio, Florida, California, and Maine. Work is expected to be completed by September 2011. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 02/25/11)

Latest destroyer delivered to Navy

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - The Navy welcomed its latest destroyer Wednesday afternoon after accepting ownership of the William P. Lawrence during a ceremony at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding's Pascagoula shipyard. The ship, which is 510 feet long and carries a 276-person crew, will be capable of simultaneously fighting air, surface and subsurface battles. The ship will leave Pascagoula May 19. (Source: Mississippi Press, 02/24/11)

Austal tax break goes up

MOBILE, Ala. - Austal USA decided to spend more on its latest expansion and will get a bigger tax break. The Mobile City Industrial Development Board voted Wednesday to exempt Austal from some $19.7 million in sales and nonschool property taxes over the next 10 years, up from the $8.9 million in tax breaks that were approved a month ago. The additional work drove up the cost of the work from $75 million to $145 million. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 02/24/11)

Destroyer's mast antenna breaks off

The upper part of the mast on the destroyer USS Gravely broke off Sunday off the northern Florida coast while conducting routine operations, the Navy said. The damage was to the mast mounted antenna. Nobody was injured and the ship safely returned to Mayport, Fla. The Gravely, DDG 107, was build by Northrop Grumman at its Pascagoula shipyard. The ship was commissioned in November. (Source: Navy Times, 02/15/11)

VT Halter gets contract

PASCAGOULA, Miss. – VT Halter Marine has won a $144 million contract to build a second carrier vessel for a Hawaii company, officials said. The company will build a roll-on/roll-off car/truck carrier for Pasha Hawaii by fall of 2013 that will provide weekly service between the West Coast and Hawaii. The company also signed an option agreement for the construction of a third vessel with a base price of $137 million. (Source: Sun Herald, 02/16/11)

Keel laid for new survey ship

MOSS POINT, Miss. - VT Halter Marine laid the keel Tuesday of a multimillion-dollar Navy research vessel named after Matthew Fontaine Maury, the father of modern oceanography. The T-AGS 66 research vessel is 253 feet long and can carry a crew of 67. It will take about 18 months to complete the ship, officials said. VT Halter Marine has about 1,800 employees at its Moss Point, Pascagoula and Escatawpa yards. (Sources: WLOX-TV, 02/01/11, Mississippi Press, 02/02/11)

A close look at a sea trial

A Navy Times staff writer provides a detailed look at the recent, successful super trial of the Northrop Grumman-built destroyer William P. Lawrence. The three-day trail is designed to find problems before the ship is delivered to the Navy, and in this case, most on board sensed the ship had performed extraordinarily well. (Source: Navy Times, 01/30/11)

City, county OK money for Austal

MOBILE, Ala. – Shipbuilder Austal USA will get $2.5 million from the Mobile County Commission and another $2.5 million from the Mobile City Council as incentive to help the company expand at its Mobile River yard. The money will be used to pay for construction of a 30,000 square-foot office building to house Navy personnel. Austal, which is building littoral combat ships for the Navy, plans $150 million in capital improvements. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 01/26/11 and 01/25/11)

Destroyer completes super trial

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - Northrop Grumman's Aegis guided missile destroyer William P. Lawrence successfully completed its combined super trial last week in the Gulf of Mexico. The successful sea trial of DDG 110 paved the way for delivery to the Navy in the next six weeks. The 509-foot, 9,200-ton ship is powered by four gas-turbine propulsion plants. Among other things, the ship's weapons, communications and propulsion systems were tested during the trial. (Source: Northrop Grumman, 01/25/11)

Fitch sees BB rating for NG spin-off

Northrop Grumman hasn't said whether it will spin off or sell its shipbuilding operations, but Fitch Ratings expects to assign a BB Issuer Default Ratings to Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., upon completion of the company’s potential spin-off. Fitch said the ratings reflect HII's position as a leading company in the defense shipbuilding industry with core capabilities in building aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines, large amphibious attack vessels, and surface combatants. The company is the sole source manufacturer on about 66 percent of its revenues, and it has a large and highly visible $17 billion backlog. Fitch said HII is well-positioned in the current defense spending environment, with roles on four of the Department of Defense's top 12 programs in the fiscal 2011 budget. Fitch's key concerns include HII's revenue concentration with the Navy and Coast Guard, the ongoing restructuring at the company's Gulf Coast operations and uncertainty about U.S. defense spending after fiscal 2012. (Source: Business Wire, 01/24/11)

Textron gets new MLB contract

NEW ORLEANS - Textron Marine & Land Systems today announced the acceptance of the sixth Motor Lifeboat (MLB) contracted by the Mexican Navy. The first five MLBs have been delivered, with the sixth 47-foot craft scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2011. The Mexican Ministry of the Navy contracted with Textron Marine & Land Systems in 2008 to build the MLBs modeled after the craft used by the U.S. Coast Guard. Textron Marine & Land Systems is an operating unit of Textron Systems, a Textron Inc. company. (Source: Business Wire, 01/24/11)

Austal OKd for tax breaks

MOBILE, Ala. - The Mobile Industrial Development Board last week approved tax breaks for shipbuilder Austal USA. The board agreed to exempt Austal from an estimated $8.86 million in sales and non-school property taxes over the next 10 years. The vote abates taxes related to a new assembly bay, land to provide docking space, a building for Navy personnel and bulkhead improvements. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 01/20/11)

GulfQuest contracts awarded

MOBILE, Ala. - The Mobile City Council awarded $30 million to six contractors to work on the GulfQuest maritime museum and ferry landing. The contracts represent the bulk of construction. The cost of the museum, which will be located next to the cruise terminal on the Mobile River, is about $52 million. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 01/19/11) The museum's exhibits will focus on trade, marine archaeology, the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem, marine commerce and shipbuilding, offshore oil and gas exploration and more.

USCG awards cutter long-lead contract

PASCAGOULA, Miss. - The U.S. Coast Guard awarded a firm fixed-price contract to Northrop Grumman for long-lead material procurement on a fifth National Security Cutter. The contract is for $89 million, with options that would increase potential value to $94 million. The Legend-class cutters are designed to replace the 378‐foot Hamilton-class cutters that entered service during the 1960s. Two of eight planned National Security Cutters have been commissioned, and a third ship will be delivered this year. A construction contract for the fourth ship was awarded on Nov. 29, 2010. Construction will begin on that ship mid-year 2011. (Source: Globe Newswire, 01/17/11)

LM to do electronics for cutter

Lockheed Martin Corp. won a $66 million contract to provide communications and related equipment for the Coast Guard's fourth National Security Cutter. The 418-foot cutter is designed for homeland security, law enforcement, marine safety and environmental protection. The contract was awarded by Northrop Grumman Corp., which is building the cutter in Pascagoula, Miss. (Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, 01/12/11)

Week in review column

When it comes to defense spending, the Gulf Coast region is all ears. That's not surprising, given that the region between South Louisiana and Northwest Florida has a wealth of military bases and activities, large and small contractors and businesses that rely on the military. It's a safe bet a lot of folks were paying attention when Defense Secretary Robert Gates during the week announced some additional spending cuts. (Source: Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor, 01/08/11)

DoD "efficiencies" announced

Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates today announced a series of moves designed to save the Department of Defense more than $150 billion over the next five years by reducing overhead and cutting excess and troubled programs. The bulk of the savings will be used in areas such as shipbuilding, long-range strike, missile defense, intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance and more. Among other things, the Air Force will buy more simulators for F-35 Joint Strike Fighter air crew training. But the Marine Corps short take-off and vertical landing variant of the F-35 is being placed on a two-year probation because of testing problems, putting the Marine variant to the back of the overall JSF production sequence. In addition, the Navy will develop a new generation of sea-borne unmanned strike and surveillance aircraft. (Source: DoD, 01/06/11) Gulf Coast note: The Gulf Coast is a major military shipbuilding center; Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the JSF training center; Moss Point, Miss., builds portions of unmanned aircraft.

Contract: Lockheed Martin, $18.7M

Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Sensors, Moorestown, N.J., was awarded a $18,708,099 modification to previously awarded contract for management and engineering services to maintain and modify as necessary the design of DDG 51 class combat system compartments and topside arrangements, in support of the Program Executive Office Integrated Warfare Systems. Twenty-two percent of the work will be done in Pascagoula, Miss. Other work sites are New Jersey, Maine, California, Washington, D.C., Virginia, and New York. Work is expected to be completed by September 2011. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 01/04/11)

Austal awards contract to GD

Austal USA has awarded a contract to General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems to be the Platform Systems Engineering Agent (PSEA) of the Independence-class littoral combat ships. The initial contract award is for one ship, with nine additional ships in the following five years. As PSEA, General Dynamics is responsible for the design, integration and testing of the ship's combat and seaframe control systems. This contract could create more than 500 additional jobs with General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems in Pittsfield, Mass., as well as in Mobile, Ala., Virginia, North Carolina, New Jersey and California. General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems is a business unit of General Dynamics. (Source: General Dynamics via PRNewswire, 01/03/11) Austal USA of Mobile, Ala., was awarded a contract last week to build up to 10 littoral combat ships for the Navy. Previous item.

Week in review column

Aerospace is the focus of this column, but it's hard not to pay attention to the major Navy contract that was awarded during the week to Austal USA of Mobile, Ala. The contract to build littoral combat ships underscores the importance of shipbuilding to the Gulf Coast region. But beyond that, it shows contracts can be split between competitors and highlights the crucial role companies with foreign roots play in the U.S. defense industry. (Source: Gulf Coast Aerospace Corridor, 01/01/11)