"These projects are valuable to our national defense needs," Senator Collins said. "I am pleased that my colleagues have recognized the incredible contributions that the companies and employees throughout Maine have made to our military and to our nation's security."
The projects in the Defense Appropriations bill of interest to Maine are as follows:
• $300 million for the U.S. Naval Seal Cadet Corps.
• $100 million for the DD(X) Destroyer Program at Bath Iron Works for ongoing design and advance procurement requirements associated with the DD(X) destroyer program''s second ship to be constructed at BIW. This provision was included in the bill at the request of Senator Collins. Earlier this year, Senator Collins authorized this $100 million for BIW as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
• $30 million for Pratt and Whitney of North Berwick for new engines for F16s for the Air National Guard.
• $15.5 million for Pratt & Whitney of North Berwick for EC-8 (JointSTARS) Re-Engine Initiative.
• $13.164 million for the Maine EPSCor Program at UMaine for a Department of Defense experimental program to stimulate competitive research.
• $9.2 million for General Dynamics in Saco for M2HB enhanced .50 caliber machine gun kits for soldiers engaged in combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
• $3 million to Telford Aviation of Bangor to continue work on a Small Airship Surveillance System for the Army.
• $3 million to Applied Thermal Sciences (ATS) of Sanford for a small, rapid response Watercraft Propulsion Demonstrator for the Navy.
• $3 million for Sensor Research Development Corporation (SRD) of Orono to develop technologies for protecting Navy water supplies.
• $3 million to the University of Maine at Orono to continue development of advanced structures and composites in construction for protective structures.
• $3 million for BiODE Corporation of Westbrook to develop an Integrated Oil Debris and Condition Sensor in order to enhance Condition-Based Maintenance for the Army.
• $2.5 million for FMI/Kennebunk to begin Integrated Composite Missile Structures, used to initiate THAAD airframe design development.
• $2 million to Technology Systems, Inc. (TSI) for continued work on a visual integrated bridge system for demonstrations aboard Navy craft.
• $2 million for Vicus to demonstrate a low cost avionics program for the Army.
• $1 million for General Dynamics in Saco to manufacture modification kits to support the Marine Corps' use of the MK19 Grenade Machine Gun.
• $1 million for TSI to implement high performance sandwich panel construction techniques.
• $1 million for Brunswick Naval Air Station for the Personal Digital Assistant Maintenance Application Project.
• Multiyear Procurement authority for the Air Force to purchase additional C-17 Globemaster III aircraft. Some of the work on this aircraft will be completed at Pratt and Whitney's North Berwick plant.
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