Hoeven Secures More Than $100 Million for Grand Forks High-Tech Aerospace Ecosystem in FY 2026 Funding Bill

Hoeven Secures More Than $100 Million for Grand Forks High-Tech Aerospace Ecosystem in FY 2026 Funding Bill

Senator Announces Q Station is Coming to Grand Forks

GRAND FORKS, N.D. - Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee, today announced he has secured more than $100 million for the Grand Forks high-tech aerospace ecosystem in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 funding, including:

• A $50 million plus-up supporting the Space Development Agency (SDA) low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite mission in Grand Forks.
  • This additional funding will focus on connecting LEO satellites operated from Grand Forks Air Force Base to ground receivers, ensuring the rapid flow of information from space to the warfighter.
• $33 million to bolster unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and counter-UAS research, development and operations in the state, including:
  • $25 million to support UAS research and testing activities by eligible entities in North Dakota, including Ideal Aerosmith, the University of North Dakota, Q Station, Space Dynamics Laboratory, Anno.Ai and Vidrovr.
  • $8 million to develop military applications for UAS and counter-UAS technology through initiatives like Senator Hoeven's Project ULTRA.
  • Report language to advance the goal of conducting U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) MQ-9 operations to Grand Forks.
• $22 million to support development of protective coatings for Department of War (DoW) equipment and vehicles, as well as training the workforce required to meet this need.
  • This includes $10 million for the expanded use of corrosion-resistant magnesium coatings, such as that produced by the Technology Applications Group (TAG) in Grand Forks.
  • The funding builds on the $6 million that Hoeven secured in FY2025 to help TAG build a new production line.
  • TAG applies coatings to a variety of hardware components for DoW, including key parts of 10 different aircraft.
  • Unlike other alternatives, TAG coatings are less costly to produce, provide better protection and are non-toxic.
• $18.5 million for research and development of hypersonic technology through eligible projects and entities in North Dakota.
• $37.5 million for additional defense research, development and operations in the Red River Valley.
• T-REX at Camp Grafton: Further solidifying North Dakota's leadership, earlier this week Hoeven announced a new partnership between DoW and the North Dakota National Guard to hold a Technology Readiness Experimentation (T-REX) event at Camp Grafton to test and evaluate counter-UAS technology during the last two weeks of August with additional events to follow. Hoeven made the case to the Pentagon to leverage North Dakota's technology ecosystem for the T-REX event.

Q Station

The $100 million Hoeven secured in FY2026 funding includes $4 million to bring Q Station, a Partnership Intermediary of the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), to Grand Forks to grow both the region's technology ecosystem and the state's leadership in UAS, space, hypersonics and other military priorities. As part of its work in North Dakota, Hoeven announced Q Station will also partner with The Hive in downtown Grand Forks.

• Q Station is an innovation hub focused on space, defense and advanced technology.
• Q Station has long-standing experience in linking industry, startups and researchers with universities, the U.S. military and government agencies.
• The funding Hoeven secured will enable Q Station to expand its operations to Grand Forks, where it will support emerging UAS companies and strengthen the UAS ecosystem.
• Q Station will help bring new businesses to the region, plug them into the local technology ecosystem and assist them in securing DoW funding opportunities.
• This will help drive investment to support economic growth, while enhancing the nation's defense capabilities in a more cost-effective manner than traditional contracting, similar to Hoeven's Project ULTRA.

"As a partner to the Air Force Research Lab, Q Station will inject real energy into our start-up community, bringing in new small businesses and connecting them with our military to meet the needs of our warfighters in innovative ways," said Hoeven. "Q Station is also a natural fit to partner with The Hive, and we look forward to the new opportunities to grow our tech ecosystem that will result from this partnership with Q Station."

"This is one of the ways we're working to expand North Dakota's leadership in our national defense, and it comes in addition to the wide array of priorities we secured in our annual defense appropriations bill. These priorities strengthen our UAS, space and hypersonic missions, while supporting greater defense research and development throughout the Red River Valley. All of these different pieces tie together to create a complex of private, public, university and military partnerships that truly enhance our nation's defense capabilities, doing innovative work that you can't find anywhere else in the nation."

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