For Immediate Release

June 24, 2002

DEFENSE BILL FUNDS ANOTHER PURCHASE
OF BOEING PLANES FOR MILITARY ROLES

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House appropriations committee today approved the defense appropriations bill for the next fiscal year, funding another significant step forward in the effort to purchase Boeing-built commercial airframes to replace retiring military aircraft, Rep. Norm Dicks said Monday.

           The committee agreed to provide a total of $596 million for the purchase of a Boeing 767-400ER aircraft and for engineering and development work next year to convert the plane – and up to 50 more in future years – into a new reconnaissance platform called the “Multi-sensor Command and Control [MC2A]” aircraft. 

           The move follows the effort launched in the current budget year to allow the Air Force to lease Boeing 767s to be used as aerial refueling tankers, replacing 40-year old 707s.  Negotiations are now taking place between the Air Force and Boeing regarding the terms for leasing 100 tankers, and Rep. Dicks said he expects those talks to be completed by next month. 

           The cost-saving concept has been designed to utilize the large 767 as a “common wide-body” airframe that will replace a variety of older 707 aircraft now in use for specific military missions.   In addition to the needed replacement of the existing aircraft, the Pentagon will realize savings from sharply-reduced maintenance costs, greater fuel economy and common training and operations using the 767s, Rep. Dicks said.

           The defense bill also contains $5.25 billion for continued R&D and for purchase of 23 of the F-22 next generation fighter aircraft, built jointly by Boeing and Lockheed;  $538 million Boeing’s Airborne Laser program; an increase of $72 million – in addition to the $297.4 for the base program -- for additional navigation and weapons integration work on the B-2 bomber; and,  $707 million for development of the Army’s Future Combat System.  Boeing was recently selected as the lead systems integrator for the Future Combat System, a new program that is identifying the promising systems and technologies for achieving the Army's vision of fielding an "objective force" beginning this decade.

           Rep. Dicks also added $10.4 million to the defense bill to accelerate a new medical use of ultrasound to stop bleeding in battlefield conditions.  The technology, called “Remote Acoustic Hemostasis” is being pioneered by the Applied Physics Lab (APL) at the University of Washington , working with the Army Medical Command.  It uses high intensity focused ultrasound waves to cauterize bleeding.   The additional defense department funds would continue the development of a portable system that could be used in the battlefield to stop bleeding, one of the largest causes of death on the battlefield.

             “The death of Sgt. 1ST Class Nathan Chapman of Fort Lewis, who was killed by small arms fire in Afghanistan, served as a reminder of the need to find innovative ways of addressing the urgent needs of injured soldiers in the field, before they can even be transported to field hospitals,” commented Rep. Dicks.  “The progress we have seen in investigating acoustic hemostasis at APL offers great promise for stabilizing the wounded – keeping them alive until they can receive adequate medical or surgical care,” he said.

           The defense bill also includes funding for specific programs at Washington State military bases and industrial sites, including:

• $907.8 million in continued funding for conversion of the four retiring Trident submarines to SSGN configurations.  Conversion work on two of the Tridents will be done at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton starting in the next fiscal year.  Advance funding was approved in the current fiscal year.
• $6.7 million for the National UUV Test & Evaluation Center at NUWC Keyport, begun by the Navy last year to organize development work on all unmanned undersea vehicles.
• $4 million for Army development of medical applications and $4 million for the Virtual Cockpit Optimization program, using the retinal scanning display technology developed by Bothell’s Microvision Corp.
• $2.5 million for the National Guard Multi-Media Security Technology, program,  a demonstration of secure video streaming capability utilizing Real Networks’ technology that can be incorporated into a real-time monitoring system for defense installations in Washington State.

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