The U.S. House Homeland Security Committee approved a national defense spending bill for fiscal year 2019 on Thursday that supports a number of military priorities in Arizona, including $163 million for new A-10 wings and $15 million for a new Aerospace Ground Equipment facility at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.
The Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) also includes $4.17 billion for 77 new F-35s and $40 million to build an F-35 aircraft maintenance facility at Luke Air Force Base. The Yuma Proving Ground at Fort Huachuca will also see its testing ranges and resources upgraded under the bill.
U.S. Rep. Martha McSally (R-AZ), a member of the committee, said Arizona’s weather, airspace and diverse network of military facilities make the state a “premier location” for the U.S. Department of Defense.
“The missions at our six military installations are indispensable to our national security and vital to our local communities,” McSally said. “I fought hard to ensure that this year’s defense bill invests in Arizona’s amazing military assets throughout the state. This bill will: infuse resources to update our bases, build more of our needed aircraft like F-35 fighters and Apache attack helicopters, produce more critical munitions like Raytheon’s Tomahawks, support research and development of next-generation weaponry, and keep the A-10 fleet flying for years to come.”
The NDAA also includes $284.6 million for new AH-64 Apache attack helicopters built in Mesa, full funding for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program, $128 million for Global Hawk modifications in Sierra Vista, $338.1 million for Stryker A1 combat upgrades, and $216 million for 196 additional Tomahawk missiles.
“If we want to stop seeing tragic and unnecessary training deaths in the news, we must invest in our military readiness,” McSally said. “This bill does just that, and I am honored to have fought and won on so many key investments for our troops.”