(Washington, DC): -- Congressman Michael R. McNulty (D-Green Island) announced today that the House of Representatives has approved the final version of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 Appropriations bill for the Department of Defense (DoD), which includes $16.15 million for nine important Capital Region projects. The conference report must now be approved by the Senate before being sent to the President to be signed into law.

“The funding in this bill is headed to various facilities, universities, and firms in Tech Valley to continue cutting-edge research and development projects, provide jobs for residents of the Capital District, grow the regional economy, and provide for the national defense,” McNulty said.

The following local projects will receive funding in the bill:

$3.9m to Plug Power for Fuel Cell Power Continuity of Operations
Continuous, distributed power in disperse locations is a significant component of any disaster plan. This program will develop and optimize fuel cell systems for these applications, and begin demonstration and evaluation in distributed sites.

$3m to Watervliet Arsenal for the Arsenal Support Program Initiative
The purpose of the Arsenal Support Program Initiative (ASPI) is to help maintain the viability of Army manufacturing arsenals and the unique capabilities of these arsenals in supporting national security interests. These funds will be used to help the Arsenal secure new companies on site, bringing significant new investment to the region.

$2m to the University at Albany for the Secure Advanced Electronics Fabrication Facility "National Secure Foundry" Initiative
The Secure Advanced Electronics Fabrication Facility (SAEFF) Initiative supports the creation of a fully-integrated advanced 300mm and 200mm wafer nanoelectronics R&D and pilot-prototyping facility. This facility will serve the needs of DOD’s “transformation” to a lighter, more agile fighting force built on high efficiency, low loss power electronics integrating high-speed communication networks with the computational power necessary to process large amounts of data from multiple battlefield sources and sensors hardened for harsh environments. As such, SAEFF leverages combined investments in the Center of Excellence in Nanoelectronics (CEN) which have surpassed $3 billion from industry, government, and universities to create an effective consortium for enacting the U.S. nanoelectronics defense industry technology roadmap.

$1.8m to Watervliet Arsenal & Oto Melara, Inc. for 76mm Super Rapid Medium Caliber Gun
This will provide a funding stream for the Dahlgren WSESRB qualification of the 76mm Super Rapid Medium Caliber Gun so that it may be installed on Littoral Combat and other Navy and USCS ships. The 76 SR has already been selected for the Egypt Fast Missile Craft. The barrels for the 76 SR will be manufactured at the Watervliet Arsenal with technical support from Benet Labs.

$1.35m to TechSolve & Benet Weapons Lab for Smart Machine Platform Initiative
This program establishes a smart machine test-bed and initial identification of technologies and devices that will improve the capabilities of both new and used equipment. The purpose of the project is to develop and disseminate 'first part' correct technology for manufacturing systems. Benet Weapons Lab is an outstanding partner for developing and demonstrating these new capabilities. DoD's ongoing "transformation" demands the development of lighter weapons with the same lethal force as today’s heavy weapons. The newer generation of weapons will require a rapid prototyping capability to produce components for evaluation and test. This prototyping capability is enhanced through the Smart Machine System and its ability to manufacture the first part correctly and avoid the redundancy of a trial and error approach.

$1.1m to Benet Labs for Advanced Technology Lightweight Armament System-Rarefaction Wave Gun
This funding will help Benet Labs to continue their work on the Advanced Technology Lightweight Armament System-Rarefaction Wave Gun (ATLAS-Raven) project. This system will be used in an ultra-lightweight combat vehicle that will significantly enhance the ability of all services to rapidly deploy to trouble spots worldwide. The ATLAS system will provide technologies for unprecedented reductions (50%) in the weight of large caliber high muzzle energy cannons, thus reducing vehicle weight and allowing for air transportability.

$1m to C-9 Corp. for Defect-Free Semiconductors Using Superlattice Technology
Enriched silicon material will be developed for use in making better electronic power semiconductor devices and cooler Integrated Circuits (IC) serving critical DoD missions. C-9 Corporation intends to scale up the existing R&D production tool located at the Watervliet Arsenal. Production scale-up is required to ensure useable quantities of high purity Si-28 and other light isotopes. Because of its possible impact on semiconductors, Si-28 may be considered for US strategic material classification.

$1m to NY Air National Guard (Stratton) for Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar
The 109th Airlift Group, based at Stratton, flies LC-130 aircraft in support of the National Science Foundation's Antarctica mission. One of the greatest dangers in supporting this mission is a crevasse hidden under the snow at a potential landing site. This system detects crevasses under snowdrifts. It will be optimized for snow runway assessment in the Antarctic region to assist in the selection of safe landing areas. It will also provide the flight crews with a near real-time capability to explore and evaluate candidate-landing zones. One system is required, which can be utilized by all assigned aircraft.

# # #