Northrop Grumman wins $40 billion Air Force contract
Northrop Grumman wins $40 billion Air Force contract
In a stunning upset, Northrop Grumman Corp. and its European ally Airbus won a potential $40 billion Air Force contract Friday to build the military's next generation aerial refuleling tanker, a deal expected to bring hundreds of high-tech jobs to Central Florida. Overall, the tanker program could be worth $100 billion during the next 30 years if the entire aging fleet of 500 plus aircraft is replaced. The inital deal is for the first 180 planes. Los Angeles-based Northop's Melbourne operation will be the program management and engineering center of the tanker work, the company said. Airbus' parent European Aeroncautic Defense & Space Co. --EADS-- has also opened an operation in Melbourne. Final assembly will take place at a plant being built in Moblie, Ala. The Northrop-Airbus team expects to add as many as 500 jobs in Melbourne tied to the tanker work, company officials said. Statewide, the team expects to create more than 2,000 high-tech jobs, including workers at its subcontractors. (Orlando Sentinel, Richard Burnett, March 2008)
Raytheon - new contract, new building
Defense contractor, Raytheon Corp. will more than triple its space in Central Florida Research Park, thanks to a $11.2 billon U.S Army training contract awarded in June.
Research Pointe II will house Raytheon Co. which is leasing 65,147 sq.ft for 5 years, from Tower Realty Partners.
"Moving into this new larger building demonstrates our commitment to our customers and Orlando that we're here to stay", says Kristin Patterson Jones, spokeswoman for Raytheon Technical Services.
The contract is called the Warfighter Field Operations Customer Support program, also know as FOCUS. A Raytheon-let team, the Warrior Training Alliance, will oversee the consolidation of the Army's live-fire, simulator and computer-generated training operations and support systems at Army base worldwide.
The additional space will enable the firm to accommodate some if its team members, which include Computer Sciences Corp. and the local operations of such major companies as Rockwell Collins, Science Applications International Corp., BAE and DRS Technologies Inc. (Written by - Chris Kauffman, 12/14/07 Orlando Business Journal)
Lockheed receives $29M Hellfire contract
Lockheed Martin has received a $29 million production order from the U.S Army for its Hellfire II air-to-ground missile. The order represents the final option under the U.S Army's Hellfire II Buy 13 contract, which was for a total of $305.9 million. The production work will be performed in Ocala and Troy, Ala. Engineering, logistics and program management support will be done at Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) Missile & Fire Control in Orlando. The latest option includes 431 missiles, which will be delivered to the U.S Army, Navy and Air Force and the United Kingdom this year. (Source: Orlando Business Journal Chris Kauffmann - Jan.2007)
Northrop unit wins $98M contract
Northrop Grumman Corp. laser-system division in Central Florida has won a contract potentially worth more than $98 million to produce laser-based targeting equipment for the military's special operations forces. The Apopka-based Northrop unit will provide nearly 940 laser markers/range-finding designators and other support equipment as part of the five-year contract awarded by the Naval Surface Warfare Center. The portable laser devices are used in homing in on enemy targets and helping to guide missiles and munitions with precision-strike capability. Northrop's Apopka unit employs nearly 900 in the design and manufacture of laser systems for all branches of the armed forces. (Sources: Orlando Sentinel, Sept. 2007)
Staffing firm expands to simulation industry
Orlando-based Threshold Placement Services, Inc. has announced the addition of a simulation-training division to its line-up of staffing services. Threshold said it established a new line of business to help meet the growing needs of Central Florida's training-technology industry, which is considered the largest cluster of such business and government agencies in the country. Threshold also announced that it has joined the National Center for Simulation, and industry trade group based in Central Florida Research Park in east Orange County, the regional core of the simulation-training industry.
(As per read in the Orlando Sentinel (2007))
J.E.T.S Inaugural Open House
Friends, family, investors and industry partners joined J.E.T.S founder, Lucy Justice, and the J.E.T.S team to celebrate the opening of their new training facility in Orlando, Florida. At the inaugural open house, guest were astounded to learn of the huge demand for a trained US electronics work force, and were surprised to discover the potential national security concerns involved with relying on China for the majority of our printed circuit boards
The new 2,844 sq.ft training facility near the Orlando International Airport will open on October 08, 2007.