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| House Passes $17 Million in Wilson Defense Projects for Albuquerque |
June 21, 2006 |
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Appropriations Bill includes Key Technology Projects Produced by Albuquerque Employers
Washington, DC – Congresswoman Heather Wilson welcomed House passage 407-19 late Tuesday of H.R. 5631, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2007, with $15.5 million for five key projects of direct importance to Albuquerque that she requested.
Four of the Wilson requests are for technology that is produced by Albuquerque employers. A fifth project is led by the University of New Mexico, while a sixth project is an anti-cyber-terrorism effort based in Albuquerque. Wilson also sent a letter of support for Boeing’s Albuquerque-produced Advanced Tactical Laser, funded at $45 million.
“New Mexico makes a disproportionate contribution to our national security,” Wilson said. “Military research in New Mexico creates jobs and helps keep America safe.”
The bill includes a pay increase for troops, and provides for more body armor and personal protective gear. Among the appropriations for our national defense priorities are a surface combat ship, 20 F/A-22 aircraft, a new submarine, and the Army’s Future Combat System (FCS). It also includes $372 million to continue dismantling nuclear weapons in the former Soviet Union, and $50 billion for operations in the war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Six New Mexico highlights requested by Wilson:
$4.5 million for the University Strategic Partnerships Program. The University of New Mexico is the lead university in this program. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) is interested in research in the areas of bio-technology, nanotechnology, materials science, information sciences, infectious disease surveillance, medical sciences, and the modeling and understanding of group behavior. The University Strategic Partnerships Program has led to joint Research and Development projects at DOE National Laboratories and White Sands Missile Range.
$5.5 million for Albuquerque-based TPL, Inc. for High Energy Density Capacitors for Military Applications. The Department of Defense is seeking to develop electromagnetic (EM) weapon systems using high voltage capacitors with significantly improved electrical energy storage capabilities. TPL is developing these capacitors.
$1 million for procurement of Albuquerque-produced MIOX Corporation’s Individual Water Purifier Systems that will enable soldiers to gather water from any source, anywhere and purify it into drinking water that meets EPA standards. Soldiers in hostile environments are required to wear nearly 25 pounds of body armor in addition the heavy loads that they have to carry during their missions. This increases the risk of dehydration and overheating. In unsecured and hostile locations the extra time it takes to purify water using a pump device increases a Marine’s exposure to enemy fire. The filter and purifier technology is integrated within a Marine’s hydration pack – the camelback that hikers and cyclists use.
$3 million for procurement of Albuquerque-based MesoSystems Chemical/ Biological Detection Tactical Air Sentinels. Tactical Air Sentinel will be a mobile, deployable, lightweight, and low power biological detector to detect releases of a variety of biological materials including anthrax, tularemia, viruses, and toxins. Tactical Air Sentinel is rooted in proven technology developed with assistance from Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and Defense Threat Reduction Agency. Tactical Air Sentinel will improve the sensitivity and specificity of the already proven Air Sentinel while at the same time reducing the size, power consumption, and hardening it for military field use.
$1.5 million for Ultra Spectral, an Albuquerque company, for the Hyper/multispectral Data Reduction and Archiving (HYDRA) capability. This software capability is needed to perform rapid anomaly detection and data management for directed energy systems such as High Energy Laser (HEL) Relay Systems. HYDRA can be integrated to use with these Laser Relay Systems for fire control and precision targeting systems. One of the biggest challenges faced by Relay Systems is the engagement of ground targets in the presence of natural and urban clutter, where both target acquisition and tracking are difficult. In addition, the project will integrate personal computers and Field Programmable Gate Arrays to provide rapid, affordable, parallel processing to accelerate the flow of tactical information to warfighters.
$1.5 million for the creation of the Computational Analysis of Cyber-Terrorism against the United States (CACTUS). This Albuquerque-based program develops a multi-agent system and associated training material, allowing for sophisticated collection, processing and analysis for advanced cyber-terrorism assessment. This system will have the following major components: Assessment of Foreign Language Websites, Association Analysis and Predictive Knowledge, and Information Operations and Cyber Security. This will be the cornerstone program for the Center for Forensic Investigations.
Other New Mexico highlights:
$45 million for Boeing’s Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL), for which Wilson sent a letter of support to Subcommittee for Defense Appropriations. The ATL Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration will evaluate the capability of a high-energy laser installed in a C-130 gunship to support special operations mission. The ATL demonstrates a truly transformational weapon capability for the U.S. military.
$3 million for Textron’s Albuquerque-based Laser Spark System Integration to complete the testing and system integration for a demonstration of this countermeasure for Man Portable Air Defense Systems missiles. Many aircraft have been attacked over the years with readily available missiles that have proliferated throughout the world. This technology will improve on the previous generation of countermeasures that are not effective against IR-jamming type missiles.
$3 million for Textron’s High Energy Laser/Directed Energy Weapon, an Albuquerque-based project to develop a Ceramic ThinZag laser which has unique strengths in modularity, heat management, and compact yet flexible packaging. This program will work with Kirtland AFB’s High Energy Laser Joint Technology Office. This technology will help accelerate success to the Joint High Power Solid State Laser (J-HPSSL) program and the introduction of tactical lasers to the warfighter.
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