The U.S. House of Representatives last Thursday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2019, funding several national defense priorities that are built, maintained, or utilized by Alabama’s military and manufacturing efforts.
The spending bill authorizes:
- $9.4 billion for 93 F-35 aircraft, which will be used by the 187th Fighter Wing based in Montgomery
- $912 million for three new Littoral Combat Ships, built by Austal USA in Mobile
- $2.6 billion for additional UH-60M Black Hawk, Lakota, and Apache helicopters, relevant to the Army’s aviation mission at Fort Rucker
- Funding for THAAD, Hellfire, and LRASM missile programs, built by Lockheed Martin in Troy
- Increased funding to address cyber threats against missile defense systems, benefitting the mission at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville
- $22.4 million for the Stryker Upgrade program, which will support the work at the Anniston Army Depot
The House and Senate are still resolving differences between their defense authorization bills, which means that the final defense bill may not necessarily authorize these programs at the levels proposed above.
@jeremywbeaman is a contributing writer for Yellowhammer News
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