McCain's visit to Miami Valley
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Local Olympian brings home silver
Funding earmarked for area defense projects
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Among the Dayton-area defense funds approved Wednesday by the House Appropriations Committee, according to Reps. David Hobson, R-Springfield, and Mike Turner, R-Centerville:
• $4 million to better use lasers and sensors to identify targets for unmanned aerial vehicles. This project is administered by Science Applications International Corporation in Beavercreek.
Extras
• $2.5 million for renovations for the Air Force Institute of Technology's Building 641 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for sustainment, restoration and modernization.
• $4 million to develop an Optically Pumped Atomic Laser to aid in inspection of classified electronics for the Defense and Intelligence communities. The project will be done at Wright-Patterson.
• $2.5 million for the testing and evaluation of Diesel Hybrid-Electric Utility Vehicles for the military. The testing will involve trucks from Navistar International's facility in Springfield.
• $3 million to create a Digital Information Sharing Pilot to allow the sharing of sensitive information among local, state and federal government agencies operating on separate networks to deal with national security or natural disaster events. The project will be administered by The Greentree Group in Beavercreek.
• $3 million to create lighter-weight armor for the Army's fleet of medium tactical vehicles. The material could provide a lighter-weight armor for Humvees. TPI Composites in Springfield is working on the project.
• $2 million to create an institute for developing the Science of Sustainment. The institute's goal will be improving mission readiness and reducing the costs of maintaining weapons systems. The project will involve work from Logtec Inc., a Fairborn company.
• $3 million to continue research on better tools to analyze geospatial intelligence — intelligence based on physical features and geographical locations. The work will involve Ball Aerospace & Technologies of Fairborn and the National Air and Space Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
• $2 million to develop and demonstrate data analysis tools to understand the neurological and physiological effects of battlefield stress. The program involves Qbase, based in Dayton, Kettering Medical Center Network and the University of Dayton Research Institute.
• $1 million to develop a process that would allow the Defense Department to transform waste plastics into alternative fuels. Concurrent Technologies Corp. in Fairborn is working on the project.
• $2 million for a sensor program that would allow the military to analyze damage assessment data in close to real time. The tool could also be used for first responders at local, state and federal levels. The program will provide a boost to a BRAC decision to consolidate sensors work at Wright-Patterson. Dayton's Woolpert Inc., Air Force Research Laboratory Sensor Directorate, University of Dayton Research Institute, Wright State University, Ohio State University and Yellow Springs Instruments are working on the project.
• $2.5 million for further development of a lighter electrical starter/generator being created by Smiths Aerospace of Vandalia. Jet engines require such starter/generators to start the engines and convert engine power into electricity for other uses on the aircraft. The new starter/generator would be used on the Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft, and the Dayton Development Coalition estimates that if Smiths' starter/generator goes into production on the F-35, it could bring at least 100 direct manufacturing and support jobs to that company as well as another 200 to 250 jobs to the Dayton supplier base.
