Chimney Sweep in North Charleston, SC

NOAA has awarded $59.8 million to Manson Construction Company to renovate the agency’s pier facility in North Charleston, South Carolina. The pier is integral to safe and efficient research ship operations in the area, with work expected to be completed in 2026.

The renovations will include demolishing and building a new pier that includes shoreside power for ships, as well as a warehouse, sea wall and living shoreline, and other supporting infrastructure. Reconstruction of the pier and other facility upgrades will allow NOAA ships Ronald H. Brown and Nancy Foster to once again have a designated place to dock and better accommodate research missions in the Atlantic. Both ships are homeported in Charleston.

“Many of NOAA’s investments in infrastructure over the next several years are made possible because of funds from the Inflation Reduction Act,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D. “Projects like this one to replace an aging NOAA facility along with other efforts to improve our supercomputing capacity and strengthen NOAA’s hurricane hunter fleet would not be possible without this historic funding.”

The design and construction of the pier and supporting infrastructure is funded in part by the Inflation Reduction Act — a historic $3.3 billion investment to help communities, including tribes and vulnerable populations, prepare, adapt and build resilience to weather and climate events in pursuit of a climate-ready nation. The act also supports improvements to weather and climate data and services, and strengthens NOAA’s fleet of research airplanes and ships.

“Our ships cannot efficiently complete their critical work without safe and reliable shoreside infrastructure,” said NOAA Corps Rear Adm. Nancy Hann, director of NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations and the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps. “Investing in our infrastructure ensures that NOAA can meet essential at-sea data collection requirements for the economic security, public safety and national security for many years to come. This award comes on the heels of our ribbon-cutting ceremony in Ketchikan, Alaska, for our new facility there and I am grateful for these facilities to support our ships.”

This contract was awarded following a request for proposals that was open January–May 2023.

NOAA’s fleet of 15 research and survey ships are operated, managed and maintained by NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations. The fleet ranges from large oceanographic research vessels capable of exploring the world’s deepest ocean, to smaller ships responsible for charting the shallow bays and inlets of the U.S. The vessels support a wide range of marine activities, including fisheries surveys, nautical charting and ocean and climate studies. NOAA ships are operated by NOAA Corps officers and civilian professional mariners.

Press Release

Emerging details from a four-minute phone call made by a military pilot to an emergency dispatcher show he was pleading for medical help after he ejected from an F-35 fighter jet and into a South Carolina resident's backyard.

The resident of the home, in North Charleston, first tells the dispatcher: “We got a pilot in the house, and I guess he landed in my backyard, and we’re trying to see if we could get an ambulance to the house, please."

The pilot then gets on the call to say: “Ma’am, a military jet crashed. I’m the pilot. We need to get rescue rolling. I’m not sure where the airplane is. It would have crash-landed somewhere. I ejected.”

The pilot's account comes the same day that a federal accountability office released a 96-page report urging the Department of Defense and the military services to "reassess the future sustainment strategy" of the aircraft model as it plans to spend $1.7 trillion on 2,500 F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter jets.

Over the weekend, a $100 million military aircraft went missing and flew without its pilot for 60 miles before crashing north of the Joint Base Charleston in South Carolina.

Pilot ejected after 'mishap':Missing F-35 jet flew for 60 miles without a pilot

Debris from the jet was located Monday in Indiantown, South Carolina, 80 miles north of the base after a malfunction caused the pilot to eject from the aircraft and land in a residential backyard about 1 mile north of the Charleston International Airport on Sunday.

Little is known about what caused the jet to go untraced because the U.S. Marine Corps hasn't released much information on how the "most expensive" aircraft went missing and crashed. The Marine Corps has said the plane was flying at an altitude of about 1,000 feet and it has a flight control software that could explain how it continued to fly without a pilot, the Associated Press reported.

“This is designed to save our pilots if they are incapacitated or lose situational awareness," the Marine Corps said in a statement, according to the AP. There is an investigation into the case.

The F-35 that crashed in South Carolina is one of about 450 owned by the DOD, the report says. The Government Accountability Office laid out several concerns in a new report released Thursday, including several about the maintenance costs of the aircraft model. Of the $1.7 trillion the DOD plans to invest in the F-35 planes, $1.3 trillion is "associated with operating and sustaining the aircraft."

Missing jet located:Missing F-35 jet flew for 60 miles without a pilot, who ejected into backyard after 'mishap'

Government Accountability Office: F-35 aircraft performing 'far below program goals'

What did they find? A summary of the report says the Government Accountability Office found the aircraft were performing "far below program goals."

"The F-35 fleet mission capable rate – the percentage of time the aircraft can perform one of its tasked missions –was about 55% in March 2023... in part, to challenges with depot and organizational maintenance," the summary reads. The office also details further maintenance concerns.

"At the same time, organizational-level maintenance has been affected by a number of issues, including a lack of technical data and training," the document continues.

It arrived at its conclusion by reviewing "F-35 program documentation, reviewed readiness and performance data, visited two F-35 depots and three operational installations, conducted a survey of all 15 F-35 installations, and interviewed officials," the summary reads.

What do they recommend? The Government Accountability Office is recommending the Department of Defense work on:

◾ "Reassessing F-35 sustainment elements to determine government and contractor responsibility and any required technical data," and;

◾ "Making final decisions on changes to F-35 sustainment to address performance and affordability."

The Department of Defense has reviewed and concurred with all of the recommendations, said Jeff Jurgenson, a spokesperson for the department.

Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, Vanessa Arredondo, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

Contact Kayla Jimenez at kjimenez@usatoday.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @kaylajjimenez.

Facility will insource production of key security products and bring new jobs to the region

RESTON, Va., July 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Leidos (NYSE:LDOS), a FORTUNE^® 500 science and technology leader, today announced plans to establish a new security systems manufacturing facility in North Charleston, South Carolina. This will be the company's third security systems manufacturing location in the U.S., expanding its presence and support to customers. Leidos will invest $31.7 million in the new facility, creating up to 170 new jobs in the region over time.

"This facility brings more manufacturing back into the U.S. and expands Leidos' global security capabilities for the aviation and critical infrastructure markets," said Jim Moos, Leidos Civil Group president. "We're thrilled to expand into the North Charleston area and look forward to making a positive impact in the community."

The new facility will produce security systems for Leidos' Security Enterprise Solutions (SES) operation. SES offers a comprehensive suite of fully automated and integrated products for aviation, shipping ports, border crossings and critical infrastructure customers. These systems provide threat detection by screening baggage, cargo and people at checkpoints around the world.

"Leidos' $31.7 million investment in their new facility here in the Lowcountry will lead to significant job growth and economic development," said Congresswoman Nancy Mace (R-SC-1). "We congratulate them on their expanding operation and thank them for putting their faith in South Carolina."

Located in Ladson Industrial Park, the new 150,000-square-foot facility will enable Leidos to onshore more manufacturing increasing the company's critical capacity to support its growing customer base. The new plant will optimize manufacturing efficiency, quality and safety through application of best-in-class manufacturing processes. The facility is currently under construction and is expected to be fully operational by the first half of 2024.

About Leidos

Leidos is a Fortune 500^® technology, engineering, and science solutions and services leader working to solve the world's toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, civil, and health markets. The company's 46,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $14.4 billion for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2022. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com.

SOURCE Leidos

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — A military pilot whose advanced fighter jet went temporarily missing over the weekend is heard repeatedly requesting an ambulance in a perplexing 911 call from the South Carolina home where he had parachuted to safety, according to an audio recording released Thursday to The Associated Press.

In a 911 call, a Charleston resident reports a pilot parachuted into his backyard.

The four-minute recording captures the bizarre circumstances for the three unidentified people involved: a North Charleston resident calmly explaining that a pilot just parachuted into his backyard, the pilot who doesn’t know what became of his F-35 jet, and a puzzled dispatcher trying to make sense of it all.

“We got a pilot in the house, and I guess he landed in my backyard, and we’re trying to see if we could get an ambulance to the house, please,” the resident said.

The pilot, who said he was 47, reported feeling “OK” after falling what he estimated was 2,000 feet. Only his back hurt, he said. The resident said the pilot looked fine.

In a 911 call, an operator speaking to the pilot about possible injuries from a fall.

“Ma’am, a military jet crashed. I’m the pilot. We need to get rescue rolling,” the pilot said. “I’m not sure where the airplane is. It would have crash landed somewhere. I ejected.”

Later in the call, he made another plea for medical help.

“Ma’am, I’m a pilot in a military aircraft, and I ejected. So I just rode a parachute down to the ground. Can you please send an ambulance?” the pilot said.

In a 911 call made from a resident’'s home, a military jet pilot explains he had to eject from his plane.

The Marines have described the pilot as an experienced aviator with decades of experience in the cockpit.

The F-35 crashed Sunday after a malfunction prompted the pilot to eject over Charleston and land in the residential backyard not far from Charleston International Airport.

The fighter jet, which the Marine Corps said was at an altitude of only about 1,000 feet (300 meters), kept flying for 60 miles (100 kilometers) until it crashed in a rural area near Indiantown. It took more than a day to locate the wreckage.

In a separate eight-minute dispatch call released Thursday to the AP, an unidentified official tried explaining that they had “a pilot with his parachute” but no information about what happened to his plane or word of a crash. He said “the pilot lost sight of it on his way down due to the weather.”

The official also recalled hearing a “rather loud noise” about 25 minutes prior that “sounded something like a tornado, possibly a plane.”

The Marine Corps said Thursday that a feature on fighter jets intended to protect pilots in emergencies could explain how the F-35 managed to continue its travels. They said that while it was unclear why the jet kept flying, flight control software would have worked to keep it steady if there were no longer a pilot’s hands on the controls.

“If the jet is stable in level flight, the jet will attempt to stay there. If it was in an established climb or descent, the jet will maintain a 1G state in that climb or descent until commanded to do something else,” the Marine Corps said in a statement. “This is designed to save our pilots if they are incapacitated or lose situational awareness.”

Other questions about the crash remained, notably why the plane wasn’t tracked as it continued flying over South Carolina and how it could take more than a day to find a massive fighter jet that had flown over populated, although rural, areas.

The Marines said features that erase a jet’s secure communications in case of an ejection — a feature designed to protect both the pilot’s location and the plane’s classified systems — may also have complicated efforts to find it.

“Normally, aircraft are tracked via radar and transponder codes,” the Marines said. “Upon pilot ejection, the aircraft is designed to erase (or ‘zeroize’) all secure communication.”

The plane would have kept broadcasting an identifier on an open channel to identify itself as friend or foe — but even on an unclassified communications channel air traffic control may not have been able to pick up the signal depending on how powerful its radar was, the weather at the time, how high the plane was flying and the terrain, the Marines said. They said thunderstorms and low cloud ceilings further hampered the search for the plane.

“When coupled with the F-35’s stealth capabilities, tracking the jet had to be done through non-traditional means,” the service said in its statement.

The incident is still under investigation and results from an official review board could take months.

However, the Marines said the feature that kept the plane flying may not only have saved the life of the pilot but of others on the ground.

“The good news is it appeared to work as advertised. The other bit of silver lining in this case is that through the F-35 flying away it avoided crashing into a densely populated area surrounding the airport, and fortunately crashed into an empty field and forested area,” the statement said.

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Copp reported from Washington. Pollard is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.