Kyl Announces Key AZ Funding in Defense Department Appropriations Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Jon Kyl announced on December 22, 2005 that the FY2006 Department of Defense Appropriations bill passed late Wednesday contains funding for a number of weapons systems and other projects important to Arizona. Kyl ensured funding for key missile defense programs, including $150 million for Ground-based Midcourse Defense and $68 million for Sea-based Midcourse Defense programs. The ground-based interceptors are built largely by Raytheon of Tucson and Orbital Sciences of Chandler; the sea-based Standard Missile-3 is built by Raytheon of Tucson. Kyl also helped to secure $74.1 million to upgrade AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopters, built by the Boeing Corporation in Mesa, which played an integral role in joint combat operations in support of both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Kyl obtained $8.5 million for the Silver Fox Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) program - begun at Advanced Ceramics Research in Tucson - to fund continuing research and development of UAV vehicles for convoy protection, reconnaissance, and possibly along the U.S.-Mexico border. Other Kyl priorities funded in the bill include: · $1.2 million for the Air Forces Versatile, Advanced, Affordable Turbine Engine, built in part by Honeywell in Phoenix; · $1.2 million for the Armys Movement Tracking System (MTS), built by Comtech - EF Data of Tempe; · $2.8 million for the Navys Rotocraft External Aircraft Protection System (REAPS), made by Simula of Phoenix; and · $1 million for the Subterranean Target Identification (STI) R&D program based at Fort Huachuca. The $453.28 billion appropriations bill includes a 3.1% across-the-board pay raise for military personnel, $1.23 billion for up-armored Humvees, and $142.8 million for body armor and other protection equipment such as devices to jam roadside bombs. It also sets aside $1.14 billion for new investments in border security, including $30 million for tactical infrastructure in the Tucson Sector.