The U.S. Air Force plans to bring 59 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft to Northwest Florida's Eglin Air Force Base and construct the Joint Strike Fighter Integrated Joint Training Site. The arrival of the 7th Special Forces Group and additional F-35 related activities is expected to add approximately 4,000 personnel and more than 6,000 dependents. Military construction is anticipated to bring another $700 million to the area. (Defense-Aerospace.com)

Melbourne’'s Florida Institute of Technology received $1 million from industry leader, Northrop Grumman. The money will support the university's annual engineering and science student design competition, which is said to inspire student innovation and strengthen America's global competitiveness.  (Florida Institute of Technology)

Prioria Robotics, Inc., a Gainesville-based pioneer in embedded systems and developer of the "smart," small Unmanned Aircraft System (SUAS) called Maveric, has created a separate UAS Services Division. The division's goal is to help customers design products, integrate cutting-edge technology, and collect data in actual or simulated operational environments.  (Read more)

The Transportation Security Administration named Miami International Airport as the agency's Airport of the Year. This award recognizes the airport that continuously implements the highest quality of airport security while maintaining exceptional courtesy and attentiveness to all passengers and customers. (Miami International Airport)

Scripps Florida, a division of The Scripps Research Institute, opened a 350,000 square-foot biomedical research facility next to the Florida Atlantic University campus in Palm Beach County that focuses on basic biomedical science, drug discovery, and technology development. Scripps Florida is expected to create 6,500 new jobs during the next 15 years. "The opening of Scripps Florida marks an important milestone in the Sunshine State's development as a biotech hub and as a global leader in medical research and development," said Governor Crist.  (Read more)

SkyCross, an antenna manufacturer based in Viera, attracted $23 million in financing to continue development of its products which simplify antenna solutions for a variety of devices, mobile phones, handsets, data cards, USB dongles, laptops and routers. The company has grown by 50 percent during each of the last four years and has raised a total of $58 million in VC backing since opening in 2000.  (TechJournal South)

Nemours, one of the nation's leading children's health systems, broke ground on a state-of-the-art $400 million children's hospital in the Lake Nona medical city. The 620,000-square-foot facility will serve as the core of a 60-acre pediatric health campus featuring a children's clinic, emergency department, diagnostic and ambulatory programs along with education and research centers. (Read more)

M3X Media Inc., a digital entertainment and multimedia technology and services company, has raised $10.5 million. This Florida-based company is developing a technology platform that brings together all the popular forms of digital entertainment, downloadable music, music videos, interactive games as well as a multi-faceted social networking capability called GruvMe.  (TechJournal South)

Naples-based Industrial Nanotech Inc., an emerging global leader in nanotechnology, was selected to work with the US Army. The company's patented Nansulate protective thermal insulation coatings will be incorporated into military equipment. (Read more)

Florida State University’s new 45,000-square-foot Materials Research Building is now open, priming the school as one of top American universities conducting state-of-the-art research on cost-efficient, high-performance composite materials. The $20 million building is a two-story facility that houses 13 laboratories for the design, processing and characterization of advanced materials and systems.  (Florida State University)