Hoeven: Supporting ND's servicemembers as they fulfill a growing role in U.S. defense

North Dakota plays an ever-more important and central role in our nation’s defense. Oftentimes, the efforts of our state’s servicemembers fly under the radar, as they take on missions around the globe to protect our country and counter our adversaries. That’s exactly why I held a military tour of North Dakota this month – to recognize the growing missions and contributions of our active duty and guard members and highlight how we are giving them the latest, greatest technology so they always have the advantage. Moreover, these expanding missions are empowering public and private sector partners in our state to provide tremendous educational opportunities for students and create good-paying jobs in North Dakota’s defense industry. Through my role on the Defense Appropriations Committee, I’ve worked to establish these partnerships, bolster our missions and advance:

• Modernization of the nuclear triad, including the missions of Minot Air Force Base, the nation’s only dual-nuclear base.
• The intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) mission, and space and hypersonic missile operations in Grand Forks.
• Upgrades for the Air National Guard MQ-9 Reaper mission in Fargo.
• More than $100 million in fiscal year (FY) 2024 defense research and development funding for projects across the state.

Minot Air Force Base

The nuclear triad is the foundation of our national defense. As our adversaries like Russia and China invest in their nuclear forces, it is essential that the U.S. remains able to counter and exceed their capabilities. That’s why we are bringing a generational upgrade to our nuclear missions across the board. In Minot, that means replacing our intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), air launched cruise missiles and their warheads, while equipping the B-52 with new engines and the best equipment so our airmen can continue to deter hostile nations, protect America and reassure our allies.

Grand Forks Air Force Base and Grand Sky

With Minot as the foundation, we look to the missions in Grand Forks as the tip of the spear. Much of the growth we are seeing today is the result of our efforts to establish the Red River Valley as a premiere location for unmanned aerial systems (UAS) research, testing, training and operations. It started with the unmanned ISR mission at Grand Forks Air Force Base, which ensures our troops have the latest and best intel across the globe. Next, we worked with the Space Development Agency to locate the operations center for its low earth orbit satellite mission on the base, making it the backbone of global communications across the Department of Defense (DoD). And then we brought Sky Range, a hypersonic missile testing program managed by DoD’s Test Resource Management Center (TRMC), to Grand Sky, making the region a critical hub for hypersonic weapons development.

Fargo Air Guard

The Happy Hooligans in Fargo have a long history of excellence, which they have carried over into the unmanned MQ-9 Reaper mission. Their strong operational record has earned them a broad client base, supporting military and intelligence missions around the world. Accordingly, we’ve been working to upgrade their aircraft’s capabilities, moving from the Block 1 to Block 5 variant, while developing a new, state-of-the-art operations center that can support this exceptionally high-tech operation at the highest level.

Here is where we start to see how these missions are connected and branch out to spur more opportunities across the state. The Air Guard expects to be fully moved into the new ops center this fall. This allows us to make the former MQ-9 facility available to TRMC for use as a Sky Range data center. By utilizing an existing, secure building, we will save TRMC time and money, while expanding the impact of this essential mission in our state.

Statewide research

Sky Range’s reach doesn’t end in the Red River Valley. As part of the $100 million that we secured for defense research in North Dakota, we funded a project by BlueHalo that enables a new partnership between the company and Bismarck State College. BlueHalo will leverage BSC’s new polytechnical education center to manufacture its phased array antenna system used by Sky Range unmanned aircraft. At the same time, it will adapt this same system to be carried on satellites, offering an additional way to track hypersonic missile tests. Not only is this a great economic opportunity for the region, but it is creating a college-to-career pipeline for BSC’s students.

This is just part of the exciting research and development that is occurring across the state, from projects involving UAS swarms conducted in conjunction with the University of North Dakota and the Northern Plains UAS Test Site to unmanned power systems and military coatings research at Packet Digital and Elinor Coatings in Fargo. There are just too many projects to name here, and there are more to come.

All told, these efforts represent a commitment of billions of dollars being invested into missions and research across our state in the coming years. Not only does that mean greater security for our country, but a more vibrant economic future for North Dakotans, and it’s thanks to the incredible work our servicemembers are doing every day, in partnership with our universities and defense industry.

Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., serves in the U.S. Senate.