The U.S. Department of Defense appropriations bill for fiscal year 2008, approved by Congress on Nov. 8, includes $49.4 million for defense and military construction spending in Rhode Island, according to an announcement by U.S. Sen. Jack Reed.
The measure, which also includes a 3.5-percent pay raise for U.S. military personnel, allocates money for the acnuisition or development of military enuipment – including a new nuclear submarine – and other defense technology from Rhode Island businesses.
“This bill provides critical funding for our brave men and women in uniform and gives them a much-needed pay raise,” said Reed, an Army veteran and a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, in a statement.
The measure includes $588 million to General Dynamics’ Electric Boat division, for advanced procurement of additional enuipment and materials, “to double its production rate of the Virginia-class submarine from one submarine a year to two” as soon as 2010, Reed said. Included in that sum is $7 million for labor costs at Quonset Point.
“I am proud that Rhode Island will play such a vital role in its construction,” Reed added, saying that “the Virginia-class submarine is an essential component of our nation’s defense capabilities.”
Other major contracts supported by the measure include:
• $5 million to Aspen Aerogels of East Providence, under the Flexible Aerogel Materials Supplier Initiative. The money will allow Aspen to develop affordable production methods and become a domestic supplier for military and commercial aerogel materials.
• $4.4 million to Systems Engineering Associates Corp. of Middletown, under two different programs: $2.8 million to enable SEA CORP to demonstrate submarine ISRT functionality, supported by the Scan Eagle Compressed Carriage and Stealthy Affordable Capsul System technologies; and $1.6 million for the Improved Surface-Vessel Torpedo Launcher program to support the continued fabrication and testing of two Advanced Development Models, leading to the production of a torpedo-launcher option for launching Mk 54 torpedoes from an unmanned surface vessel.
• $4 million to MPRI of Middletown to procure 250 additional Laser Collective Combat Training System (LCCATS) for the Army National Guard.
• $4 million to Epoxies, Etc. Inc. of Cranston, to develop and demonstrate rapid-repair, ultraviolet-curable structural adhesives for aircraft applications.
• $3.2 million to Mikel Inc. of Middletown, for its Advanced Intercept Ranging System (AIRS) program. The allocation will allow Mikel to complete the final research and development, at-sea testing, implementation of real-time algorithms and in-board electronics for AIRS, and installation on existing and future submarine classes.
• $3.2 million to the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, for the Improved Submarine Towed Thin-Line Array Handler and Array Reliability program. The money will support the program’s three-year initial phase, allowing NUWC to complete the system design, then develop and test prototype system changes, to improve thin-line towed array system reliability.
• $3 million to TPI Composites of Warren, for the Armor Ready Composite Cab Transition, allowing TPI to build several dozen armor-ready composite cabs and create the necessary infrastructure to expand the program to a variety of vehicle platforms.
• $2.8 million to various Rhode Island companies for the Undersea Perimeter Security Integrated Defense Environment (UPSIDE) program, supporting the transition from a prototype undersea detection/classification/response system to a fully integrated, functional and deployable shorefront infrastructure protection system. •
