The version of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2027 approved by the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee this week includes South Dakota priorities such as a combined $43.7 million for National Guard construction projects in Sioux Falls and Sturgis, according to the office of U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds.
Rounds, a South Dakota Republican, is a member of the committee. The bill now goes to the full Senate.
“The NDAA is the hallmark piece of legislation that the Armed Services Committee works on each year, and it’s always an honor to have a role in crafting it at the committee level,” Rounds said in a news release.
The release said the bill includes provisions specific to South Dakota, including the following:
Fully authorizes the B-21 Raider bomber plane development program, which will be housed at bases including Ellsworth Air Force Base in western South Dakota, with $3.23 billion for total procurement and an additional $4.25 billion in research and development.
Authorizes $146.8 million for B-1B Lancers, which are stationed at bases including Ellsworth.
Authorizes $40 million for an Aircraft Maintenance Hangar for the South Dakota Air National Guard’s 114th Fighter Wing in Sioux Falls.
Authorizes $3.7 million for a Vehicle Maintenance Shop for the South Dakota Army National Guard in Sturgis.
Authorizes $10 million for Cold Regions Advanced Materials and Manufacturing research being done at South Dakota Mines in Rapid City.
Authorizes $10 million for Large Area Additive Deposition work being done on large area additive manufacturing by VRC Metal Systems and South Dakota Mines.
Authorizes $5 million for Innovate High Energy Density Sodium Battery research being done by South Dakota Mines.
Authorizes $30 million for the University Consortium for Cybersecurity including Dakota State University in Madison.
Requires the Army and the Air Force to provide the congressional defense committees a briefing on the resources needed for environmental restoration activities on the Pine Ridge Reservation, which was formerly the site of a bombing range, and encourages the secretary of the Army, secretary of the Air Force, and Army Corps of Engineers to conduct government-to-government consultation with the Oglala Sioux Tribe.
Requires the secretary of the Air Force and the commander of U.S. Strategic Command to reevaluate the B-21 Raider program of record and provide an assessment of the number of B-21 aircraft necessary to meet the nuclear and conventional mission requirements in the fiscal year 2026 National Defense Strategy, with a plan for producing the necessary number of aircraft (it is likely, Rounds’ office said, that many of the aircraft purchased beyond the initially planned 100 B-21s will make their way to Ellsworth.)
Requires the secretary of defense to provide the full report and unredacted materials used in the review of the Medals of Honor provided to soldiers for their conduct at Wounded Knee Creek in December 1890.
Thanks South Dakota Searchlight