For Immediate Release:
Thursday, May 11, 2006

WASHINGTON D.C. - U.S. Congressman Dan Boren, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, has secured $24 million in the National Defense Authorization Act to benefit the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant and the Defense Ammunition Center.  The bill passed the House of Representatives today.

 

“McAAP has become one of the finest installations in our nation’s defense apparatus.  The plant’s contribution is especially important in this time of war,” Boren said.  “I’m pleased to provide these vital resources to expand capabilities and invest in the future.”

 

Funding Boren secured in the National Defense Authorization Act includes:

 

• $11 million for the Excalibur extended-range artillery projectile.  Excalibur is the Army’s only close-fight precision artillery projectile.  The McAlester Army Ammunition Plant will be utilized in loading some of the shells.
  
• $6 million for the procurement of ammunition peculiar equipment (APE) out-loading equipment at Defense Ammunition Center (DAC), allowing ammunition to be moved more efficiently.
  
• $4 million for Air Force insensitive munitions upgrade.  The Air Force is converting its conventional bombs over to insensitive ammunition.  The Army, as the single manager for conventional ammunition, needs the funding to transition the equipment at McAlester Army Ammunition Plant to handle the new explosive.
  
• $3 million for desert optimized equipment.  This will provide ammunition handling equipment that can withstand the sand and dirt found in many environments where troops are currently deployed, such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

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