US Fed News
July 18, 2006 Tuesday
SEN. GRASSLEY: IOWA DEFENSE RELATED PROJECTS FUNDED IN
APPROPRIATIONS BILL
US Fed News
WASHINGTON
The office of Sen. Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, issued the following press
release:
Sen. Chuck Grassley said that several projects for Iowa have been included in
the subcommittee appropriations bill for the Defense Department. The
subcommittee finished the bill earlier today. The full committee is expected to
consider the bill yet this week.
"It's nice to see the number of entities in Iowa that work every day to protect our
country," Grassley said. "Federal funding for their initiatives not only helps our
defense capabilities, but they help our troops be the best in the world."
The bill will now move for consideration by the full Appropriations Committee.
Following the full committee approval, it must be passed by the full Senate. It will
then be reconciled with the bill from the House of Representatives. Grassley said
he will continue to work with Senate appropriators throughout the process to see
that funding for these projects are included in the final version of the bill. The
appropriations process begins each spring and is typically completed at the end
of each congressional session.
Here are the projects included in the subcommittee bill.
University of Northern Iowa, Spray Technique Analysis and Research for
Defense, $2 million - The University of Northern Iowa, in conjunction with the
Iowa Waste Reduction Center, has developed the Spray Technique Analysis and
Research training program. Continued operating funds will help ensure that
coatings are applied in an effective and consistent manner for all defense
facilities. The project has proven results for significant cost savings and
environmental improvements.
University of Northern Iowa, Staff Development project for Mathematics
Teachers, $1 million - The program proposes to expand the project to include
teachers from grades 3-11. Department of Defense school teachers do not have
access to Department of Education funds for teacher in-service. This project
meets an important need for improving teacher quality and student performance.
University of Northern Iowa, Center for Education in Nanoscience and
Nanotechnology, $2 million - The University of Northern Iowa Center for
Education in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology within the College of Natural
Sciences will focus on the education of undergraduate students in the areas of
nanoscience and nanotechnology. The focus will be on undergraduate education,
including undergraduate research. Professional development courses will be
provided to faculty in secondary schools and community colleges in the region.
Faculty from Chemistry, Physics, Biology, and Industrial Technology will be
involved in creating an undergraduate nanoscience and nanotechnology
curriculum.
Iowa State University, Virtual Teleoperation for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, $4
million - This approach is expected to solve the critical operational and training
challenges that must be overcome to allow a single operator to simultaneously
monitor and control several semi-autonomous unmanned remote vehicles. The
funding will build upon the existing facilities at Iowa State's renowned Virtual
Reality Applications Center, and help design, develop, implement, and test the
hardware, software, and aeronautical systems necessary to create immersive
ground control stations based on virtual reality technology.
Iowa State University, Assessing Aging of Military Aircraft, $3 million - The U.S.
Air Force is challenged with the procurement, operation, and maintenance of a
wide variety of aircraft and the accompanying propulsion systems. The
challenges range from maintaining aircraft that are well past their original design
life to the operation of advanced weapon systems. The safe and reliable
operation of our military fleet is critical to the defense of our country and the
protection of our military personnel. A comprehensive program that addresses a
range of inspection needs is underway as part of a new partnership between the
Center for Nondestructive Evaluation at Iowa State University and the
Nondestructive Evaluation Branch of the Air Force Materials Laboratory at Wright
Patterson Air Force Base.
Iowa National Guard / Iowa Office of Drug Control Policy, Midwest Counterdrug
Training Center (Johnston, IA), $6 million - The Midwest Counterdrug Training
Center is a DoD funded, National Guard administered, training center whose
mission is to provide the highest quality training at the lowest possible cost to all
those engaged in the fight against drug trafficking and substance abuse. The
Center provides both onsite training at Camp Dodge as well as mobile training in
an 18 state region encompassing the Midwest and Northwest United States.
During fiscal 2005, MCTC trained more than 6,000 students, mostly state and
local law enforcement officers, from 53 of the 54 states and territories.
Iowa Army Ammunition Plant, Insensitive Munitions Flexible Load, Assemble,
Pack Artillery Manufacturing System, $5 million - The Iowa Army Ammunition
Plant is working to incorporate an insensitive munition (IM) flexible manufacturing
system for the entire range of melt-poured and cast-cured ammunition from
60mm mortars through 155mm projectiles.
Iowa Army Ammunition Plant, Burlington, 120mm Tank Ammunition-Army
Requirements-M1028, $9 million - The Army will be able to purchase additional
m1028 canisters assembled by the Iowa Army Ammunition plant. The m1028
canister round is highly effective in open terrain and urban combat operations like
those found in Iraqi cities. The canister is fielded to tank units in Iraq and has
provided U.S. Forces with a new capability to engage and defeat enemy targets
in this new operating environment.
Power Film, Boone, Flexible monolithically integrated solar panels on a polymer
substrate, $3 million - This program improves the manufacturing technology
throughput and capacity of existing flexible monolithically integrated solar panels
on a polymer substrate. This program supports the Army's Futures Combat
Systems and Future Force needs by enabling larger scale production of
lightweight integrated solar panels for mobile, remote, and basic power. The
program will help meet the Army's growing need for portable power for
communications and weapons systems, and also help implement the technology
in the U.S. industrial base
FakeSpace Systems, Marshalltown, SharedVision, $3 million - This program
creates a system of systems for the acquisition, assimilation, integration,
distribution and shared visualization of up-to-date realistic, virtual representations
of areas of engagement to augment the common operational picture for
situational awareness and for mission rehearsal. The effort involves a
combination of software and hardware development in addition to integration with
existing systems. Fakespace Systems will work on this effort in coordination
with Iowa State University.
Etrema, Ames, Advanced Acoustic Transducer Concepts, $3 million - The
requested funds will be used to develop and test new sonobuoy geometries
enabled by the use of magnetic smart materials. The reduction in the size of
power electronics will allow for increased battery size, leading to an extended life
in the field. Coupled with the advances in acoustic output made possible by the
technology, the Navy will see a significant leap forward in acoustic capability.
Additional tasks funded by this request will cover the test and evaluation of
prototype systems in real-world ship-board applications during simulated flight
operations. The data obtained will substantiate the benefits of retrofitting such
systems aboard Naval vessels.
Advanced Analytical, Ames, Portable Rapid Bacterial Warfare Detection Unit,
$1.5 million - Funding provided to Advanced Analytical in fiscal 2006 was used to
establish rapid and reliable detection probes for analysis of the most dreaded
microbiological organisms, including Bacillus anthracis. These probes identify
organisms based upon a highly-conserved region in the nucleic acid portion of
the bacterial cell and allow accurate, reliable detection at minute levels. The goal
of fiscal 2007 focuses on modifying this proven technology to produce a
miniaturized, portable instrument that is better suited for field deployment.
West Central Cooperative, Ralston, Battlefield Plastic Biodiesel, $3.7 million Additional funding is required to fund a demonstration program to recycle military
plastic waste into useable biodiesel fuel source. Forward bases produce tons of
waste every day, and forward bases require large quantities of fuel for power
generation. Transforming the convertible waste into fuel for a brigade level
deployment (3500 soldiers) would save an estimated $1 million or more per
month.
Goodrich, West Des Moines, Active Combustion Control Systems for Military
Aircraft, $6 million This is a 34-month project that designs, develops and integrates a fuel injection
system incorporating health management and diagnostics, a differential flow
sensor, dynamic pressure sensors, digital flame detectors, smart fuel injectors,
and drive electronics packaged with a Goodrich 4-bit digital actuator. The high
speed actuator is the key to system success, and will be provided to the Air
Force at no developmental cost.
PMX, Cedar Rapids, Copper Antimicrobial Research Program, $2 million - The
Copper Antimicrobial Research Program addresses a means to help stem the
increasing number of infections acquired in healthcare settings and the
concurrent, growing resistance of pathogens to available antibiotics. Strains of
microbes resistant to current antibiotics exacerbate the problem, posing a serious
threat to individuals typically able to combat infection. This poses a significant
risk to military personnel receiving care in Department of Defense facilities,
leading to decreased productivity and force strength. This program seeks to
reduce hospital-acquired infections through the conversion of touch surfaces to
copper alloy surfaces and evaluate their performance through extensive clinical
trials.
Alcoa, Quad Cities, Littoral Combat Ship - Advanced Lightweight Metals
Technology for Aluminum Intensive Marine Structures, $1.8 million - The Navy is
seeking to develop and acquire a new class of high speed, stealthy sea-going
surface craft capable of operating in littoral waters. The combination of high
speed and littoral operations like shallow draft place a premium on reducing
structural weight. Many Littoral Combat Ship platform requirements can be
achieved more efficiently through application of aluminum design/manufacturing
methodologies currently employed by Alcoa in the commercial transportation and
aerospace sectors. Alcoa already has proven methodology for collaborative cost
reduction and product improvement which is producing tangible, substantive
results. By utilizing its integrated design-for-manufacture methodology proven in
the automotive and aerospace arenas, Alcoa can play a direct and substantive
role in helping the Navy achieve its weight, cost, and survivability objectives for
the Littoral Combat Ship program.
Rockwell Collins, Cedar Rapids, Defense Advanced GPS Receiver (DAGR), $6
million - The Defense Advanced GPS Receiver is the most sophisticated and
capable GPS receiver of its class in the world and has been engineered to weigh
under one pound from the previous three pounds of its predecessor. In addition
to enhanced anti-jam capabilities, the DAGR also has a new maps feature
allowing the war-fighter to download and display maps for improved battlefield
situation awareness. The basic need is for the U.S. war fighter to fully participate
in military operations where orders, intelligence, and other combat information
are distributed in digital form. Situational awareness allows a soldier to harness
battlefield information and operate the radios and position/navigation system,
thereby enabling the soldier to be more efficient and effective in combat. The
Situation Data Advisor allows the integration of digital maps, position locations of
both himself and other friendly units and known enemies through manual and
laser range finder input.
Rockwell Collins, Cedar Rapids, Blue Force Tracker, $3 million - The Blue Force
Tracker will help deliver more War Fighter mission efficiency. Funding will help
enhance the situational awareness of the battlefield. It will also aid in the
development and purchase of software to upgrade aircraft so that pilots can fly in
lower altitudes and in zero visibility conditions. Ultimately, these new advances in
engineering will help save lives of war fighters and make their missions more
efficient.
Rock Island Arsenal, Roof for Building 299, $6 million - This is the second of a six
phase effort to repair the roof on Building 299 ($5.6 million in fiscal 2006 funding
for phase I). Building 299 is needed for additional manufacturing space at Rock
Island Arsenal. Building 299 is a 775,000 square foot warehouse constructed in
1942. The building is generally in good condition with the exception of the original
roof, which is severely deteriorated. This project will completely remove, and
properly dispose, all asbestos containing roofing components. The sloped roof
will be replaced in phases by a new vapor barrier, structural purlins, metal
decking and insulated standing seam metal roofing. Flat roofs will be replaced by
a vapor barrier and built up roofing.
Rock Island Arsenal, Arsenal Support Program Initiative for Rock Island Arsenal,
$9 million - The Arsenal Support Program Initiative was enacted by Congress for
fiscal 2001. The goals of the initiative are to encourage commercial firms to
utilize and invest in Rock Island Arsenal facilities in order to reduce product and
ownership costs. Additionally, the initiative increases the utilization of existing
critical skills and maintains readiness of the military industrial base. The Arsenal
currently has fourteen Arsenal Support Program Initiative tenants.
University of Iowa, Digital Humans and Virtual Reality for Future Combat
Systems, $3 million - The Virtual Soldier Research Program at the University of
Iowa has made significant contributions to the development of new technologies
in human modeling and simulation. The goal is to create digital humans that can
be deployed in a virtual world before any actual physical prototypes are made.
Human safety and human factors issues can be simulated early in a design
cycle, this making significant reductions in cost and time. The proposed efforts
will focus on methods to increase artificial intelligence in digital humans, to
develop methods for studying dynamic tasks and motion prediction, as well as
clothing for nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare simulation of the
dismounted soldier.
University of Iowa, Rockwell Collins, ATI Corporation, Next Generation
Manufacturing Technology Initiative (NGMTI), $6 million - This initiative will help
accelerate the development and implementation of breakthrough manufacturing
technologies in support of the transformation of the defense industrial base and
the global economic competitiveness of US-based manufacturing. The Next
Generation Manufacturing Technology Initiative will address the common
requirements of the Department of Defense, other governmental agencies, and
US industry to accelerate the development and implementation of next
generation manufacturing technologies.