Hoeven Secures NDAA Provisions to Bolster North Dakota’s Nuclear, UAS and National Guard Missions

Hoeven Secures NDAA Provisions to Bolster North Dakota's Nuclear, UAS and National Guard Missions

WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee, today issued the following statement after the Senate passed the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that authorizes a just under 4% pay raise for service members, streamlines the defense acquisition process and supports North Dakota's military missions.

"Our service members are the best in the world, and with challenges around the globe, we need to keep them ahead of our adversaries. This year's NDAA supports our troops - providing them with a pay raise and bolstering their missions," said Hoeven. "Importantly for our state, we secured provisions to keep our nuclear modernization efforts moving forward at Minot Air Force Base; to advance our unmanned aerial systems (UAS), hypersonic missile testing and low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite missions in Grand Forks; and authorizations for the radar upgrades at Cavalier Space Force Station and for our National Guard Readiness Center in Jamestown. North Dakota's missions are vital to the defense of our nation, and this NDAA ensures our state has the support necessary to continue leading the way."

Hoeven worked to secure provisions in the legislation for North Dakota, including:

Grand Forks Region

• RQ-4 Global Hawks: Maintains the current inventory requirements of Block 40 RQ-4 Global Hawks through September 30, 2030.
• Roadmaps: Directs the Air Force to submit a comprehensive intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance roadmap & comprehensive bomber roadmap.
• Space Development Agency (SDA): Authorizes $500 million for Tranche 3 of SDA's Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture.
• Corrosion Resistant Coatings: Authorizes $10 million for development of coatings produced by Technology Applications Group.

Minot Air Force Base

• Sentinel Program: Authorizes $4.2 billion for the Sentinel program.
• ICBMs: Sets minimum inventory requirements for Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) at no less than 400.
• MH-139 Grey Wolf: Authorizes additional procurement of the MH-139 Grey Wolf helicopter to modernize the aging fleet of UH-1 helicopters.
• Global Strike Command: Reinforces and codifies the importance of Air Force Global Strike Command as a major command in supporting United States nuclear deterrence requirements.

Cavalier Space Force Station

• PARCS: Authorizes $22 million for radar modernization to improve detection of missile threats and space domain awareness capabilities of the Perimeter Acquisition Radar Attack Characterization (PARCS) radar at Cavalier Space Force Station.

North Dakota National Guard

• Future MQ-9 replacement: Includes Hoeven-language directing the Air Force to analyze the feasibility of developing and deploying a next-generation version of the MQ-9, capable of performing the missions currently conducted by the MQ-9 at a comparable scale.
• Jamestown Readiness Center: Authorizes $5.2 million in planning and design for the facility.

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