| For Immediate Release March 12, 2009 |
Contact: Fritz Chaleff (202) 225-0508 |
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Congressman Bilbray released his Appropriations Requeststo the House Armed Services Committee |
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| (Washington D.C.)- North County Congressman Brian Bilbray has made two appropriations requests to the Committee on Armed Services: Eagle Vision III, $6,000,000 In October of 2007, San Diego suffered through one of the worst wildfire disasters in California history. With thousands of homes lost and hundreds of thousands of lives changed, the California National Guard requested upgrades to Eagle Vision, the San Diego-based system that has already proven itself as an asset for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, CAL Fires/OES and the Army Strategic Command. The Eagle Vision III system directly and indirectly supported the 2008 Midwest Flood, Hurricanes Fay, Gustav and Ike and has participated in numerous military exercises. To augment the current system, this request seeks to provide resources for an increased imaging system that will provide higher resolution images, with more frequent access to images for first responders, while at the same time allowing for image data collection through clouds, haze and smoke. These capabilities are essential for the military and will be critical to the San Diego region for combating natural disasters such as wildfires, floods and hurricanes. 2. Predator C, $26,000,000 In July 2008, Congressman Bilbray visited Iraq and Afghanistan to assess the current conditions on the ground. In a meeting with General David D. McKiernan, Commander of the International Security Force and Commander of the U.S. forces in Afghanistan, he emphasized that the most important tools needed to successfully conduct operations are more "eyes in the sky," also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Most importantly this request for two Predator C UAVs will help save lives through better intelligence gathering and enhanced strike capabilities, while also creating jobs in San Diego during an economic crisis. The Predator C will provide the USAF and other customers with an additional covert capability, enhanced through higher operational and transit speeds, for quick response and repositioning to support greater mission flexibility and survivability. (####) |
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