Hoeven Supports Confirmation of Troy Meink as Air Force Secretary

Hoeven Supports Confirmation of Troy Meink as Air Force Secretary

WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today issued the following statement after voting to confirm Troy Meink as Secretary of the Air Force:

"North Dakota is home to a growing contingent of missions that are central to our nation's defense, most of which fall under the Air Force and Space Force. Secretary Meink will be an important partner as we work to strengthen these operations and ensure their effectiveness over the long-term, including modernizing our nuclear deterrent in Minot, supporting unmanned missions and counter-drone tech development in Grand Forks, enhancing the capabilities of the radar at Cavalier and reinforcing the missions of our Air National Guard in Fargo." said Hoeven. "We also look forward to working with Meink to bring a future ISR mission to the Grand Forks Air Force Base and ensure the U.S. has sufficient capacity in this critical area."

As a member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee, Hoeven will work with Secretary Meink to support both new and established missions in North Dakota, as the state grows more central to the nation's defense. Among other priorities, Hoeven's efforts include:

• Advancing the modernization of the dual-nuclear missions at Minot Air Force Base.
• Leveraging Project ULTRA to develop counter-drone technologies to protect against emerging threats from the malicious use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS).
• Bringing a future intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) mission to Grand Forks Air Force Base.
• Supporting the MQ-9 mission for the North Dakota Air National Guard.

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