Tue, Mar. 9, 2004

Senate-passed defense bill contains millions for Arkansas
Friday, Jun 25, 2004

By Alison Vekshin
Stephens Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- An annual defense bill containing almost $250 million for Arkansas military projects moved a step closer to passage in Congress this week.

Approved late Wednesday by the Senate, the bill includes $6 million for a new maintenance complex for the 188th Fighter Wing in Fort Smith.

The funds would go toward construction to replace two buildings at the Fort Smith Regional Airport that the Air National Guard says are too small and too old.

The new aerospace and maintenance complex would house more than 200 pieces of aircraft support equipment and about 75 vehicles, including refueling and fire trucks. Some 50 employees would work there, according to Guard officials.

The bill also contains $11.9 million for the Pine Bluff Arsenal, including $4.4 million to modernize and automate data processing equipment.

An additional $7.5 million would go toward arsenal production of ammunition, chemical and biological decontamination kits, and biological and chemical protection masks.

The bill's total cost is $422.2 billion, containing authorizations for Pentagon policies, major weapons programs and projects affecting military personnel.

The bill includes $6.5 million for programs at the University of Arkansas, including $2.5 million for Army electronics research into nanotechnology. Also, $2 million would go toward the university's Logistics Institute to develop logistics technology for the Air Force.

Another $2 million would support three-dimensional packaging research involving the University of Arkansas, North Carolina State University, the University of Florida and the International Technology Center.

The program develops 3-D microcircuit packages to help the military lower the size and weight and improve the thermal and electrical performance of radio communications equipment.

Rogers-based Vision Technology is slated for $4 million to develop a machine control surveillance system for the Navy's gas turbine ships.

Also, Fayetteville-based Space Photonics is slated for $3 million to develop space communications systems for the Air Force.

In the next step of the congressional process, the Senate is expecting to pass a defense appropriations bill containing spending for all the authorized projects, according to Sen. Don Nickles, R-Okla., chairman of the Senate Budget Committee.