Reid secures $87 million-plus in defense funding for state

U.S. Sen. Harry Reid , D.-Nev., hailed the recent passage of the Defense Appropriations bill. The Senate majority leader helped direct more than $87 million to Nevada for a variety of high-tech programs being developed by the military, higher-education institutions and the private sector.

"I'm so pleased that this money is coming to the Silver State," Reid said. These funds go to our military, our universities and the state's private sector, all for the purpose of keeping Nevadans and all Americans safe."

The Defense Appropriations bill includes $28 million for Southern Nevada and nearly $59 million for Northern Nevada.

Below is a list of some of the Northern Nevada projects that will receive funding:

Northern Nevada

• $800,000 to extend current gun-tube computational fluid-dynamic software to include analysis of the moving hardware required for the Lightweight Cannon Recoil Reduction and run the analysis on a massively parallel, high-performance computer system to ensure quick response to design-analysis questions. Software and Engineering Associates, of Carson City, will administer this project.

• $1.6 million to complete the Rapid Manufacturing and Repair of Composite Components, which will include fabrication of prototype parts using trap toolings and scale tooling for larger parts. This program is managed by 2Phase Technologies, of Dayton.

• $1.92 million to construct a building at the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center at the Naval Air Station Fallon, and for a simulator to train Navy SEAL Joint Terminal Attack Controllers.

• $5.8 million to allow the Nevada National Guard to capitalize on current imagery systems and capabilities which support many other DOD aerial- Imagery systems.

• $3.5 million to maintain current Nevada Army National Guard Counter-Drug Operations.

• $2.96 million to procure M872A4 34T flatbed trailers to support either training or homeland security missions for the Army National Guard.

• $1.2 million to finish the propelling-agent slurry-gel program at Hawthorne Army Depot, including the installation of equipment and prove-out of the processing line. The program is administered by Day & Zimmerman, of Hawthorne.

• $1.56 million to construct the Northern Nevada Special Operations Training facility (two training structures - Live Fire Mobile Shoot House and Rappel Tower) to support joint training requirements conducted at the Hawthorne Army Depot.

• $3 million to enhance and expand the design, development and application of the biosensor communicator and controller system with full integration into drive and flight-simulator testing systems. Collaborative efforts are under way between Eye-Com Corp., Washoe Sleep Disorders Center, University of Nevada, Reno, NASA, and U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force to deliver a working system that has been comprehensively tested in multiple simulators for improving operator performance.

• $3.9 million to focus on the MPOI for the Battlespace Information Exchange's second and final phase for the completion of the FY 05 initiated program; and to introduce an efficient optical-interconnectivity solution that addresses all inter-platform communications needs of UAV platforms. This project is conducted by OptiComp Corp., of Zephyr Cove.

• $1.6 million to develop methods and technologies for characterizing critical global military operating in natural environments (polar, tropic, temperate and desert) for support of high-tempo military operations worldwide. This program is administered by the Desert Research Institute.

• $3.2 million to help transform and improve defense communications and image and signal processing capabilities for massively parallel optical interconnects for micro-satellite applications. OptiComp Corp., of Zephyr Cove, administers this program.

• $700,000 to develop the University of Nevada, Reno's millimeter wave-Based fatigue countermeasure technology, a device based on millimeters that will serve as a skeletal muscle fatigue countermeasure for use in the battlefield.