WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives today passed a $463.1 billion FY 2008 Defense Appropriations Bill that contains approximately $15.5 billion in defense projects that provide work for south central Kansas workers.  U.S. Representative Todd Tiahrt (R-Goddard) was responsible for securing $51 million in additional funding for area companies and institutions. Tiahrt is a senior member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, which oversees the defense spending bill.

“The best workers in the world are right here in South-central Kansas and they contribute greatly to the security of our nation,” said Tiahrt. “I am pleased to be in a position to help create jobs in the 4th District while addressing the needs of our brave men and women who are protecting our homeland.”

Under the final Conference Report, important defense programs at Boeing, Hawker-Beech and Cessna will all receive additional funds secured by Tiahrt, resulting in jobs for local workers. Tiahrt was also successful in securing $13.2 million for research projects that are performed at Wichita State University, with a majority going to the National Institute for Aviation Research. The funds added to the measure by Tiahrt are in addition to those requested by President Bush. The overall price of the ’08 Bill, however, is approximately $3.5 billion less than the President’s request.

The Defense Appropriations Bill provides spending for programs in the Department of Defense and the military services, except military construction.

The bill passed on a vote of 400-15.

The U.S. Senate must still act on the Conference Report.

The FY ’08 defense spending bill includes the following projects/programs:

B-52 Core Component Jammer ($4.0 million):
Mounted to the B-52s, the CCJ (formerly Stand-off Jammer) provides an electronic attack capability for the entire battlefield from stand-off distances. Rep. Tiahrt added $4.0 million to continue the research on this important program.  Boeing-Wichita, the B-52 modification center-of-excellence, would perform this work. 
Civil Air Patrol Aircraft ($1.8 million):
Rep. Tiahrt added $1.8 million to the President’s request of $6 million that will allow Civil Air Patrol to purchase new Cessna C-172, C-182 and C-206 aircraft, which are manufactured at Cessna’s Independence, KS facility.

USMC Operational Support Airlift (OSA) Light Aircraft ($8.3 million):
Current OSA aircrafts are reaching fatigue life expenditures and do not meet current payload, protection and landing capabilities, the UC-12+ addresses these concerns. The UC-12 aircraft is vital to intra-theatre transport of people and cargo. The production and modification work will be completed in the Raytheon Wichita facility. 

McConnell Air Force Base, 931st Reserve ARG Mx Personnel ($1.6 million):
The 931st has a personnel shortfall of 12 Drill Officer, 304 Drill Enlisted, and 100 ART Civilian personnel.  This shortfall has caused tremendous burden on the maintenance personnel at the co-located active duty 22nd Air Refueling Wing and hindered the operational readiness of both the 22nd and 931st.  By working with the leadership of Air Force, the 22nd, and the 931st, Rep. Tiahrt crafted a workable solution to gradually add the necessary personnel over the Fiscal Years 2008 and 2009.  The earmark of $1.6 million is necessary to begin implementation of this solution and ensure the 931st ARG has enough personnel to fulfill its critical mission. 

Vigilant Auto-ID and Access Control System ($1.0 million):
The Defense Appropriations bill provides $1.0 million to develop a sensor system installed on unmanned vehicles to provide accountability and tracking of war fighters using auto-id iris and fingerprint biometrics.  There is an on-going effort to install this new technology on certain McConnell facilities.

Wichita State University, including National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR), projects and cooperative programs include ($13.2 million total):
• Aging Evaluation of Advanced Materials Used for Military Aircraft ($1.2 million)
• Accelerated Insertion of Advanced Materials for Materials Substitution and Repair ($2.8 million)
• Continuous Integrated Vehicle Health Monitoring Systems ($1.2 million)
• Common Reconfigurable Advanced Thermal Management System ($500,000)
• Next Generation Ice Protection Technologies for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ($2.0 million)
• Digital Network Centric Remotely Operated Weapons System ($1.0 million)
• Contextual Arabic Blog and Slang Analysis Program ($1.0 million)
• Immersive Medical Environment for Distributed Intuitive Consultation (iMedic) ($1.5 million)
• Unmanned Air Vehicle Technology Evaluation Program ($1.0 million)
• Advanced Avionics Miniaturization Program ($1.0 million)

Cerebral Palsy Research Foundation of Kansas ($1.6 million):
This $1.6 million appropriation will continue a pilot program started by Rep. Tiahrt four years ago in which qualified organizations that employ people with severe disabilities will act as either a prime contractor or sub-contractor for contracts with the Department of the Air Force and the Defense Information Systems Agency for both manufacturing and information technology contracts or sub-contracts. The Cerebral Palsy Research Foundation of Kansas, Inc. (CPRF) expects to participate in the program.

Radio Personality Modules for SINCGARS Test Set ($2.0 million):
The $2.0 million in the ’08 defense appropriations bill will purchase additional aircrew survival radio equipment and ensuring adequate field training on those test sets.  AreoFlex, of Wichita, manufactures these test sets. 

Directed Energy Systems for UAV Payloads ($1.0 million):
Developed by ARC Technology of Whitewater, KS, this technology specifically targets the disruption or destruction of electronic systems such as communications, computers, sensors, and remote triggering devices which may be employed as IEDs.

C-130 Active Noise Cancellation ($1.5 million):
The Active Noise Cancellation is a commercial off-the-shelf product that will reduce crew fatigue and associated hearing loss by greatly reducing the unhealthy noise levels in the C-130 cockpit. Global Aviation Technology of Wichita is a major supplier for this project.

Composite Small Main Rotor Blades ($1.6 million)            
Composite main rotor blades will provide significantly increased survivability, reparability, damage tolerance, and erosion resistance, as well improved hover performance, higher ceiling and greater forward speed. A major supplier for this project is Plastic Fabrication Co, in Wichita.

Upward looking Sensor ($1.0 million)
An unattended sensor system with the capability of detecting shallow-water submarines over a large area. It would provide early warning and deterrence without having the costs or fatigue problems of a continuously powered system. This work will be performed by Radiance Technology in Wichita.

C-130 Health Monitoring System ($1.0 million)
Rep. Tiahrt added $1.0 million to develop a C-130 Health Monitoring System to help resolve structural fatigue issues by monitoring flight critical systems.  Teledyne Controls of Wichita is expected to be a major contributor to this project.

Advanced Processing for Ultra-Efficient Power Systems ($1.0 million)
This project makes affordable die-cast copper rotor motors available for new aircraft designs, which will reduce maintenance cycles and costs and create longer lasting, cooler running motors needed to power electrical components in support of warfighter mission requirements. A major supplier for this project is Electromech, in Wichita.

Laser Peening for Friction Stir Welding ($1.0 million)
Friction Stir Welding will simplify design and production operations, and improve material and resource utilization. Cost reduction through reduced part count and reduced tooling requirements and fastener requirements will benefit all major military aircraft programs. The Curtiss-Wright facility in Wichita is expected to heavily contribute to this project. 

Coyote GQM-163A Supersonic Sea-Skimming Target ($1.0 million)
The US Navy has developed a Supersonic Sea Skimming Target (SSST), the Coyote GQM-163A, to provide a high fidelity simulation of new and emerging threats for fleet training.  The Coyote target program is the first SSST successfully developed by the U.S. Navy in 30 years and at less than the 20% of all costs combined on previous attempts.  CEi, a Wichita company, performs the software and engineering for the Coyote front-end system.

Global Air Traffic Management (GATM) Program  for KC-135s ($7.2 million)
The GATM program provides additional capabilities to the KC-135 fleet.  Aircraft without GATMs must fly at restricted altitudes and less than optimum routes forcing them to consume more fuel to get to their destination resulting in less fuel to off -load and shorter combat time to support the forces in the battle area.  This is a fundamental technology that allows combat crews to reach the target area with the most fuel and in the least fatigued condition possible.  This program will benefit the KC-135s at McConnell AFB and the Rockwell Collins facility in Wichita, KS will significantly contribute to this effort.

Second Source Tires for Joint Light Tactical Vehicle ($1.2 million)
The Department of Defense needs the ability to have competitive alternatives for critical components, such as tires, in both price and supply.  This program ensures that the Services have sufficient mobility for ongoing military activities as well as surge supply in a wartime environment.  The Goodyear facility in Topeka will greatly contribute to this important effort. 

The FY ’08 defense spending bill includes the following projects/programs that result in work for Kansas:

Joint Primary Aircraft Training System ($541 Million)
The Defense Appropriations bill includes $246 Million for the Air Force and $295 million for the Navy for the procurement of a total of 83 Air Force Joint Primary Aircraft Training System (JPATS) T-6A aircraft, which are manufactured at Raytheon’s Wichita facility.

UH and MH-60 Blackhawk ($2.2 billion):
Excel Manufacturing Incorporated, Plastic Fabricating Company and Electromech Technologies, all of Wichita, are subcontractors on the Blackhawk.

Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft ($881 Million):
The Navy RDT&E budget includes $881 Million for the Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft. The MMA program will replace the aging fleet of Navy P-3C aircraft (submarine hunters) with a technologically superior mission system based on The Boeing Company’s Next Generation 737 aircraft. Much of the 737 is manufactured in Wichita.

F/A-22 Raptor ($3.9 billion):
The Defense Appropriations Bill includes $3.9 billion to fully fund the procurement of 20 F/A-22 aircraft in fiscal year 2008.  Airtechnics, Incorporated of Wichita is a subcontractor on the F/A-22.

F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, Lightning II ($6.3 billion):
The Defense Appropriations bill includes $3.9 billion to continue development of the aircraft.  It also includes $2.4 billion for the procurement of 12 F-35s – 6 Air Force and 6 Marine Corps. Burnham Composites and Nex-Tech Aerospace, both of Wichita, are subcontractors on the F-35.

Airborne Laser ($515 million):
The FY 2008 Defense-wide RDT&E budget includes $515 million for the ABL. Boeing Wichita is responsible for modification work on the commercial 747 that serves as the ABL platform.

KC-135 Tanker Replacement ($150 million):
Replacement for the rapidly aging KC-135 fleet. Funds will be used for research and development. Boeing has submitted a reply to the Air Force’s Request for Information for the KC-135 replacement competition. 

National Guard and Reserve Equipment Account ($980 million):
These additional funds will enhance the National Guard and Reserve forces’ ability to meet overseas deployment demands, and respond to national disasters here at home.  The Kansas National Guard will receive funding based upon equipment requirements.