The House passed its version of the FY 2026 bill by a vote of 231-196 Wednesday.
On tap for Wright-Patterson in the Senate bill is $15 million for planning and design to repair an aging base runway.
The deteriorating runway has been on the radar of base leaders and local base supporters for years.
“I actually learned about this when I was lieutenant governor,” said Husted. (Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine appointed Husted to the Senate seat J.D. Vance vacated when Vance was elected vice president with President Trump last November.)
The money will go to design and planning for the runway. “This is in my opinion a high priority because you can’t very well have an Air Force base without a functioning air strip,” Husted said. “We want to make sure we have a good one, and it’s there for the future.”
The Senate has also set aside $2.8 million for designing a new AI “supercomputing center” on Wright Patterson for the Air Force Research Laboratory, which is headquartered at the base.
“We’re not building it, but we’re designing it,” Husted said. “You have to do that first.”
Meanwhile, $45 million for construction of a human performance center laboratory for the 711th Human Performance Wing, also at Wright-Patterson, is enshrined in the Senate version of the NDAA.
This is funding for “actual construction,” not merely design work, Husted said. “Where this is going is how humans and machines work together, computers, robotics, warfighting machines, all of those kinds of things, how you can enhance human performance using those kinds of technologies,” he said.
Also secured in the Senate bill is language to support the Air Force Collaborative Combat Aircraft. An early version of the uncrewed drone fighter flew for the first time late last month.
Ohio employer Anduril has built its iteration of the CCA, the YFQ-44A “Fury.”
“We’re putting some additional language in there to require the Air Force to develop this program,” Husted said.
The House bill allows $848 billion in defense spending but does not obligate that level of spending.
The House iteration of the bill features a 3.8% pay raise for service members and supports Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defense initiative.
The House and Senate bills must eventually be reconciled with each other. “I have a high degree of confidence” the Wright Patterson spending provisions will survive reconciliation, Husted said.
“We’ve got good bipartisan cooperation on this,” the senator said. “In these uncertain times globally, I think that people will want to get our military funded, and the NDAA passed very soon.”
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