F-35 mid-range cruise missile contract signed

Lockheed Martin and Turkish company Roketsan signed a contract to cooperatively develop the SOM-J missile for integration into the F-35 internal weapons bay. SOM-J is a new generation air-to-surface standoff cruise missile.

The contract enables the companies to move forward with their Technical Assistance Agreement, making the SOM-J missile available to international customers. SOM-J integration into the F-35 is scheduled for Block 4. Early live flight testing will be conducted on Turkish F-16s.

"SOM-J integration on the F-35 will enable pilots to engage targets from long ranges while maintaining the aircraft's critical stealth capabilities," said Frank St. John, vice president at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control.

SOM missile development began in 2006 and entered service with the Turkish Air Force in 2011. SOM-J is a smaller version of the subsonic SOM missile, which employs a 500-pound warhead and has a required range of more than 100 nautical miles. The SOM-J missile uses Global Positioning System as its primary guidance and is aided by inertial, terrain-referenced and image-based navigation systems, as well as an imaging infrared seeker.

In August, the F-35 Joint Program Office announced plans to issue a contract to Lockheed Martin to deliver a report which determines the design impacts of a proposed change on the overall F-35 weapon system, to include Mission Planning, Training and Reprogramming capabilities.

NASA awards AWD Management Services $73 million contract

NASA has awarded AWD Management Services, Inc., of Lawrenceville, Ga., a five-year contract to provide administrative and secretarial support services at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas. The contract is titled JSC Administrative Support Services II (JASS II).

The contract is valued at $73 million, with a period of performance from Nov. 1, through May 31, 2020.

Work under the contract will be performed at Johnson Space Center, the Sonny Carter Training Facility, Ellington Field, White Sands Test Facility near Las Cruces, N.M., and other NASA operating locations.

SkyWest orders 18 Embraer 175 jets

Embraer announced Monday that it has signed a firm order with SkyWest, Inc. for 18 E175 jets. The order, which will be included in Embraer's 2015 third-quarter backlog, has an estimated value of $800 million, based on the current list price. The aircraft will be operated by SkyWest Airlines, under an amendment to an existing Capacity Purchase Agreement with United Airlines.

With this new 18 aircraft purchase, the total number of SkyWest E175 firm orders reached 73 units of this model.

Delivery of the first aircraft is expected in 2016. The E175s are configured in a dual class 76-seat layout, equipped with 12 First Class seats, 16 Economy Plus seats, and 48 Economy seats, and will operate under the United Express brand.

The E175s feature a new wingtip that, among other technical enhancements, improves aerodynamic performance. Fuel consumption on a typical flight is 6.4 percent lower than first-generation E175s. In the last two years, the E175 has captured over 80 percent of orders among aircraft in its class from airlines in the United States.

SkyWest is the holding company for two scheduled passenger airline operations and an aircraft leasing company and is headquartered in St. George, Utah. SkyWest's airline companies provide commercial air service in cities across the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean with more than 3,500 flights and a fleet of 678 aircraft. SkyWest Airlines operates through partnerships with United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, US Airways, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines. ExpressJet Airlines operates through partnerships with United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines.