"This legislation contains a variety of crucial provisions that will provide critical force protection to our men and women in uniform; restore our military's readiness; and continue the development of technologies to counter existing and emerging threats. It also includes key shipbuilding provisions that are important to the Navy, Bath Iron Works, and our overall national security," said Senator Collins, who is a member of the Senate Armed Services and Appropriations Committees. "In addition, the Senate Armed Services Committee has again recognized the valuable contributions of Maine companies to our national security by supporting my request to funding important defense programs in our state."
At Senator Collins' request, the Senate bill helps ensure a continued and steady workload at BIW by authorizing $1 billion in funding for construction of the third DDG-1000 and honors the agreement, that Senator Collins helped negotiate, to build all three of these ships at BIW. In addition, this legislation authorizes $2.2 billion for continued DDG-51 procurement, nearly $150 million for the DDG-51 modernization program, and $1.4 billion for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program.
The Senate Armed Services Committee also authorized a 3.4 percent across-the-board pay increase for service members, a half percent above the President's budget request and repealed a Congressional mandate that large surface combatants be nuclear powered.
In addition, Senator Collins was able to successfully authorize funding for the following Maine projects:
Penobscot County
• $28 million for a new Aircraft Hangar at the Bangor Air National Guard base in Bangor.
• $10.5 million for the University of Maine. The authorized funding will support continued research and development of light weight modular ballistic tent insert panels designed by the University of Maine's Army Center of Excellence in Orono. The panels provide crucial protection to service members in temporary dining and housing facilities in mobile forward operating bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. The funding will also support continued research and development of high temperature sensors for health monitoring of aerospace components as well as cellulose nanocomposites panels for enhanced blast and ballistic protection. It also will provide for woody biomass conversion to JP-8 Fuel.
• $3 million for Orono Spectral Solutions to continue development of a chemical and biological infrared detection system.
• $3 million for ANGEL Secure Networks in Orono to continue development of software which would secure content delivery and provide host authentication both of which are of critical importance to protect the Department of Defense's technological edge.
• $2 million for Sensor Research & Development in Orono for real time test monitoring of chemical agents, chemical agent stimulants and toxic industrial chemicals.
Hancock County
• $4 million for the Center for Regenerative Medicine at Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory in Salsbury Cove. The goal of the Center is to develop improved regenerative treatments for those injured in combat.
Kennebec County
• $3.5 million for Tex Tech Industries in North Monmouth to produce Ballistic CORE Technology. The Ballistic CORE Technology project provides enhanced protection for troops against fragmentation from blasts and a variety of bullets.
Cumberland County
• $4 million for Portland Valve in South Portland for smart valve technology.
• $2 million for Hodgdon Defense Composites in Portland for design optimization of composite high-speed boats using advanced composite manufacturing and non-destructive evaluation.
• $1.8 million for Technology Systems, Inc. in Brunswick for additional development of the threat identification program as well as test and demonstration on small craft to allow for tailoring the system for small craft operators.
York County
• $7.1 million for Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery to be used for security improvements at Gate #2.
• More than $100 million for Saco Defense for manufacturing of the Light Caliber .50 Machine Gun, M2 .50 Caliber Machine gun, MK-19 MOD 3 Grenade Machine Gun, and Advanced lightweight grenade launcher.
• $4 million for Howe & Howe Technologies, Inc. in North Berwick to weaponize the Ripsaw Unmanned Ground Vehicle platform.
• $1.75 billion to purchase 7 F-22 Raptors. Pratt & Whitney, with a plant in North Berwick, builds the engines for this twin engine 5th generation fighter.
• $10.4 billion to purchase 30 Joint Strike Fighters (F-35). The engines for these planes are built by Pratt & Whitney in North Berwick