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September 16, 2010

Bennett Secures $7.5 Million for ATK in Defense Bill

Also includes $14.7 million for Utah National Guard to help combat illicit drugs statewide and improve training operations

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Bob Bennett (R-Utah) announced today that the Senate Appropriations Committee approved $680 billion to fund the Department of Defense and security operations in Afghanistan and Iraq for Fiscal Year 2011. Bennett secured $86.8 million in the bill to strengthen Utah’s military infrastructure and develop cutting edge defense technologies, including $7.5 million to continue production of the Minuteman Solid Rocket Motor at Alliant Techsystems (ATK).

“There is a critical need to make smart investments in defense systems that keep us safe while saving taxpayer dollars,” said Bennett, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “Continuing the production of the Minuteman Solid Rocket Motor at ATK is a cost effective way to ensure the long-term viability of the nation’s nuclear deterrent and sustain an industrial base critical to our national security.”

Also included in the appropriations bill is $14.7 million for projects benefitting the Utah National Guard. This funding includes $1.5 million for Guardsmen to provide counterdrug support to Utah’s school districts, law enforcement agencies, and communities as part of a statewide plan to curtail the demand and supply of illicit drugs in the state. The Guard will also use $6 million to procure a virtual training system to prepare members of the Utah National Guard for combat and security operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Bennett also secured funding for the following projects in the Fiscal Year 2011 Defense Appropriations Bill:

Senior Scout Imagery Intelligence Integration $7.2 million

Funding will enable the Utah National Guard to optimize the Senior Scout platform capabilities to integrate signals and imagery intelligence. This imagery capability will yield additional intelligence data in near real time to enhance the effectiveness of the Senior Scout platform and increase the actionable intelligence data available to theater commanders.

Advanced CB Aerosol Referee Instrumentation for Dugway $4 million

This funding will enable the integration of software necessary to process and visualize information from simulated chemical and biological aerosols during testing. This will substantially improve tool and referee instrument infrastructure for Chem-Bio agent detection and virtual testing at Dugway Proving Grounds and enable the evaluation of several key programs.

Advanced Ship Defense Technology Testing $6.1 million

Funds will test and prove technology to increase naval ship defense against small boats and anti-ship missiles. Increased protection against small boats and anti-ship missiles has become a high priority for the US Navy based on recent encounters and intelligence threats worldwide. The rapid development and testing of a follow-on electromagnetic (EM) defense system will accelerate its deployment for near-term fleet use.

Fusion, Exploitation, Algorithm, Targeting High-Altitude Reconnaissance $4 million

Space Dynamics Laboratory will use funding for data collection, management, fusion and processing for airborne Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and manned sensors. This research and data will be used to develop the ability to coordinate and manage multiple forms of intelligence in near real-time, significantly enhancing a war fighter’s ability to effectively carry out a mission.

Rapid Bedside Cellular Therapy for Burn Wounds $2.25 million

This funding will help continue the development of an easily deployable cellular therapy for soldiers’ burn wounds using the patient’s own blood and bone marrow in order to address injuries from suicide bombs, land mines and other forms of IEDs.

Highly Functional Intelligent Prosthetic Devices $4 million

Funding will be used for clinical and translational research to develop implantable neuroprosthetic devices for these military amputees. This collaborative effort between the University of Utah and Worcester Polytechnic Institute develops new technology allowing prostheses or implants to be directly attached to the amputee’s skeleton, preventing disease and improving quality of life.

Oxygen Delivery Patch $1.5 million

Funding will go to create an on-demand and portable oxygen delivery system, providing an essential tool to medics on the battlefield. This oxygen patch will allow the evacuation of a victim to a safe location before intubation.

Neural Control of External Devices $1.5 million

Funding will accelerate the development of technology to enable neural control of the limbs for people with severe neurological injuries or disorders. The technology will microminiaturize a portable, wireless, bidirectional communication device for the eventual use in reanimating muscles using command signals from the brain.

Lightweight Armored Hybrid Power Generating Tactical Vehicle $1.5 million

This funding will help further research and development of a military vehicle to suit specified requirements with new transportation and warfighting realities. The Department of Defense has expressed an urgent need for this vehicle.

M65 Bismaleimide Carbon Fiber Prepreg Development $3.5 million

This program will assist with the qualification of resin systems for use in composite materials on major defense programs such as the F-35 and Long Range Strike. The objective of this project is to qualify the M65 controlled flow prepreg system that offers thermal performance with epoxy manufacturing benefits.

Army National Guard Unit History Records $4 million

This funding will help improve retention and increase moral within the Army National Guard by providing individual Guardsman with a personalized Interactive Unit Specific Historical Record. The program pays for itself in retention costs, has wide support in the National Guard community, has proven successful in pilot programs, and is currently in-demand by Guard units in over 20 states.

Metals Affordability Initiative (MAI) $10 million

The mission of MAI is to maintain leadership in the strategic aerospace metals industrial sector by using innovation to maintain global competitiveness while improving performance and increasing affordability of weapons systems. MAI programs impact sustainability of the Air Force fleet which consists of over 6000 aircraft at an average age of over 25 years. The technology developed is applicable to other military systems and allows the leveraging of technical resources and financial investment.

Reduced Size Crashworthy External Fuel System 125 Gallon Tank $3 million

These funds will be used to develop and procure a ruggedized external fuel tank for the U.S. Army Apache helicopter. The Reduced Size Crashworthy External Fuel System will provide a safer external fuel tank for the U.S. Army Apache that will extend mission time.

SAFESEE – a Collision Avoidance System for UAVs $2 million

Funding will develop a sense and avoid system to provide unmanned aircraft systems with the ability to avoid colliding with other aircraft and thus operate safely in unrestricted airspace with manned aircraft.

Solid State Arc Fault Detection and Arc Location System $1 million

This program will improve military aircraft safety by identifying circuit faults that are extremely difficult to locate using traditional methods. This project will significantly improve aircraft safety and save the U.S. military millions of dollars in maintenance costs by locating circuit faults that are difficult or impossible to identify using traditional methods. Intermittent electrical faults cause many in-flight problems including fires, loss of control, and a host of other inaccurate electrical responses.

Space Sensor Data Link Technology $4.4 million

Funds will be used to complete the development and testing of the Common Data Link receiver that gives our troops the ability to receive battlefield intelligence directly from reconnaissance satellites. Although this receiver is currently employed on all airborne ISR platforms, no operational capability exists to enable direct feeds to troops on the battlefield from space-based ISR systems.

Support Equipment for Time Critical Targeting, Senior Scout $1.9 million

Funding will help develop a dynamic test and training capability that will be used by DoD intelligence assets. The project will create an environment in which all facets of ISR can be engaged in joint training to better prepare our airmen and soldiers for the war effort before they deploy. The culmination of this project is to bring together the necessary technologies whereby we can test and evaluate tactics, techniques, and procedures that will be utilized in Overseas Contingency Operations.

Tomahawk Cost Reduction Initiative $3.8 million

This project will make improvements to the F415 Tomahawk Cruise Missile engine to maintain an affordable and highly reliable engine system. The project helps maintain a critical technology base necessary for future DoD Cruise Missile projects. The project is currently in Phase I, the identification and preliminary design of improved technologies and lower cost solutions.

Unserviceable Ammunition Demilitarization via Chemical Acid Dissolution $2.6 million

Funds support the implementation of environmentally friendly alternatives to the traditional disposal methods to destroy high risk munitions through second generation prototype acid dissolution system that will address disposal capability shortfalls at the Army’s Tooele Army Depot in Tooele. The unit will provide the capability to access and destroy high risk munitions, and can be combined with an existing Tooele Arms Depot capability for destruction of residual energetic materials by caustic hydrolysis.

FilmArray Bio-Threat Detection System Upgrade $2.5 million

Funding will be used to increase the speed at which the warfighter can identify and counter biological hazards. The U.S. Special Operations Command’s (SOCOM) unique mission requires the ability to identify biological weapons agents forward in the theater of operation. By reducing the time from sample to answer, SOCOM will be able to replace the current limited system, capable of only testing for 10 agents. This project provides a pathogen identification system capable of testing for more than 100 targets in 60 minutes. Through the use of a fast and comprehensive test for these agents, SOCOM’s response to bioterror threats will be greatly improved.

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