Edwards - big base, big part of AV Board of Trade Outlook Conference Published Feb. 23, 2011 By Diane Betzler Staff Writer LANCASTER, Calif. -- The Antelope Valley Board of Trade hosted its 39th Annual Business Outlook Conference Feb. 18 and brought in the valley's top government, military, city and business leaders to discuss how the valley is faring during these economic hard times and what's ahead for high desert communities. Brig. Gen. Robert C. Nolan II, Air Force Flight Test Center commander, was among those who spoke to the thousand-plus audience. General Nolan talked about the importance of flight testing, how the base supports the surrounding communities and how important it is that the communities continue to support the flight test center. He started out by acknowledging American troops and reminded everyone that they are out in the world working around the clock protecting America's freedom. He said there are 450,000 Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coastguardsmen currently serving overseas. "Some of those folks, 450,000 strong, serve in nice places, but 150,000 of them are serving in Afghanistan, Iraq, the Horn of Africa and the Philippines on our behalf," he said, then asked attendees to keep the troops in their thoughts and prayers. He credited General Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold, the only five-star general in America's history to attain five-star rank in both the Army and the Air Force, for bringing military aviation to the Antelope Valley and for having the foresight to recognize what is now Edwards, as the perfect site for flight testing. General Nolan said all the reasons General Arnold chose Edwards as the AFFTC still exist today. Good flying weather, relative remoteness, Rogers and Rosamond dry lakebeds and the space needed for the Air Force to conduct the activities it needs to conduct on behalf of the United States. General Nolan thanked the communities for their support and said it is vital to the flight test center's success that the support continues. "We're in this together. We need your support as we go forward and conduct our mission," he said. Base officials are concerned about preserving the current mission and capabilities at Edwards, he said. It's important that the base doesn't do anything that would have an adverse impact on the community, and at the same time it's important that the community doesn't bring in any kind of business that might have an adverse impact on the flight testing that goes on at Edwards. The best way to prevent that kind of conflict is for base officials and community leaders to communicate and be aware of each other's missions, he said. "We have to work together. If I have a new mission, the local community needs to be aware to determine the impact that mission might have on the community," he said. He then talked about the economic impact Edwards has on the community and said the base paid out $626 million in payroll expenditures last year. "Of course that payroll generates a lot of economic activity inside the Antelope Valley." He said there are some 11,000 employees at Edwards. Two thousand of them are military. The rest are contractors and dedicated military civilians, all supporting AFFTC's mission. "And so there is $1.5 billion or so of activity per year occurring at Edwards that's impacting the business activities of the Antelope Valley," he said. General Nolan mentioned that there are many aviation firsts happening at Edwards and that there's nothing more exciting than aviation history and its potential. "There are lots of incredible things still going on in this community on behalf of United States citizens," he said. The general said his top priority at Edwards right now is the Joint Strike Fighter program, currently with four F-35 Lightning II aircraft at Edwards. He said the JSF is going to be a single-point success. "This airplane is going to replace all the tactical aviation in the Air Force, Navy and the United States Marine Corps. There are three versions, one for each service, this is an incredibly critical program for the United States and we need it to be a success," he said. While the aircraft is not problem-free, it is flying pretty well, he said. "That's what developmental flight test is all about - we discover the problems. We fix them so the airplane can go into full-rate production, and we can take it into combat a workable, viable system," he said. He expects to have nine jets in developmental test by the end of the year. By 2012 another 20 aircraft are expected on the ramp at the flight test center. The JSF platform, as it moves forward, is the future of tactical aviation for the Department of Defense and for many of America's allies, he said. The general said the Airborne Laser Program is the most advanced program currently on the ramp at Edwards. "We've taken a chemical laser that is not too large, and produces one megawatt of power, and a year ago, almost to the day, we shot down a missile with this airplane." He said that over the next several months testers are going to continue to improve the laser technology and then a decision will be made about how the United States is going to use it. The general then talked briefly about the X-51 program at Edwards. General Nolan said this critical scramjet technology is advancing development rapidly. It is a partnership between academia, industry and the government, and said testers are getting ready to fly three of the scramjet vehicles this spring. "Maybe this will be a propulsion source that gets weapons around the globe faster and gets them to where they need to go faster. We're talking about an airplane that travels around at 4,000 miles per hour with an air-breathing engine with no moving parts," he said. All the programs the general talked about, the Joint Strike Fighter, the Airborne Laser, and the X-51, are accomplished through a partnership with industry, government and in some cases with academia. "I could not do my mission without the partnership of these folks. I'm executing programs in concert with them. I'm training my personnel in concert with them, and I am providing capabilities to warfighters across the globe because we are working together," the general said. General Nolan said as the base moves, and changes and works toward 2050, one of the most important things the community can do is discuss the flight test center's plans so the community can stay compatible with those plans and avoid encroaching on Edwards' critical national defense mission. "We need to preserve those things that Hap Arnold found here in 1933. We need to preserve the very crucial restricted air space that overlies Edwards Air Force Base, Fort Irwin and China Lake." He said one-sixth of the airspace in the state of California is dedicated to the DOD mission. "We cannot do our mission without that dedicated airspace," he said. Other speakers at the conference included David McBride, Dryden Flight Research Center director. He said NASA is all about navigating change. He agreed with General Nolan about the importance of working together, "We couldn't do our job without the support of Edwards Air Force Base and Plant 42," he said. Stuart Witt, general manager, Mojave Air and Space Port, told the general the people he has working for him at Edwards are top-notch. Mr. Witt said it's important that elected officials come here to speak. "I also think it's important that they come here to listen to us," he said. Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich sent a video message as did U.S. Congressman Buck McKeon. Dianne Knippel, president of the Antelope Valley Board of Trade and director of Communications/Public Relations for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, talked about the theme for this year's conference, Navigating Change, and said people today are living in a rapidly changing world. "Here in the Antelope Valley we see the results, everyday, of research in materials, propulsion and aerodynamics," she said. Local government and business are working together to bring jobs and housing to the area, she said. "We're trying to increase the quality of life." Economist Brad Kemp, regional research director, Beacon Economics, told everyone that the recession is over. "It's the effects of the recession that are not gone," he said. The economy is recovering; it's just that the recovery is weak, he said. Still, the Antelope Valley hasn't suffered as much as other areas. "The AV has everything it had in the past. You haven't lost anything." Mr. Kemp said. Most people still have their jobs, he said, and the future of the Antelope Valley is bringing in more jobs. He said he doesn't see the feared double-dip recession coming, just a slow recovery. "You may not see the effects of a recovery every day, but by the end of the year, the effect [will be] huge," he said. Aerospace pioneer and entrepreneur Burt Rutan won this year's Businessperson of the Year Award, the highlight of the conference.