Washington, Sep 29 -  

– U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint and U.S. Representative Henry Brown today announced Congress has approved $32 million for Lowcountry area defense projects. The legislators secured the funding in the Fiscal Year 2007 Defense Appropriations Bill. President Bush is expected to sign the bill into law in the coming days.

“South Carolina is the tip of the spear in fighting the War on Terror,” said Graham. “Our industries and universities provide the armed forces with the best research and equipment available. Our sons and daughters proudly don the nation’s uniform to defend our freedoms. Our entire state proudly stands firm to protect and honor our way of life. I am proud to join with Senator DeMint and Representative Brown to secure funding for these worthy projects and I applaud my colleagues for passing a responsible bill that will ensure America’s military remains the best trained and best equipped fighting force in the world.”

"South Carolina leads the nation in producing state of the art equipment, and I'm proud of our state's long history in supporting their missions," said Senator DeMint. This bill proves that South Carolina continues to play a vital role in ensuring our men and women in uniform remain the best equipped military in the world and they have the tools necessary to secure America's homeland."

"The Charleston area has many highly-qualified partners who stand ready to support our nation's military operations,” said Brown. “With the passage of this legislation, I am pleased to see these firms afforded the opportunity to contribute to the defense effort, and to provide a well-deserved pay raise for our armed forces."

Projects include:

· $3 million for Air Operations Combat Support (AOCS) to provide war-planners with the first automated tool to determine the available combat air assets. Development is based in Charleston.

· $1 million for Active Coating Technology on Rotorcraft (ACTOR) to reduce downtime of aircraft in harsh environmental conditions.

· $1 million Troop Recruit Improvement (TRIM). This program focuses on finding a means of preventing obesity in teens to ensure that they are able to meet military weight requirements and live full, healthy lives.

· $2.7 million for the purchase of Quadruple Specialty Containers produced in Charleston.

· $2.25 million for the development of the Joint Threat Warning System, an air communication surveillance system that provides direct warning to aircrafts operating over hostile territory, enhancing situational awareness and increasing aircrew survivability and the probability of mission success. Development is based in Charleston.

· $2.2 million for the development and integration of Electronic Warfare (EW)/Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) System which will provide the Marines’ ability to fight the war on terror. Development is based in Charleston.

· $1.3 million for The Masking Shunt. The Masking Shunt is a layer-2 network security appliance that the Critical Infrastructure Protection Center (CIPC) at SPAWAR as well as the Advanced Concepts and Technology Demonstration (ACTD) office in the Pentagon are interested in deploying in order to increase cyber security protection. The Masking Shunt hides Media Access Control (MAC) addresses of any pass through device.

· $18.5 million for C-17 Aircraft Maintenance Trainer. This funding will complete the partial suite of three Maintenance Training Devices at Hickam AFB. This will positively impact operations in Charleston.