WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Mike Turner (OH-10) made the following statement after the Department of Defense announced that it will award a federal grant to the city of Springfield, OH for construction of a facility to house the National Advanced Air Mobility Center of Excellence (NAAMCE) at Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport. 

“This project provides a new research facility for the government, academia, and industry to continue advancing our national security efforts,” said Turner. “Wright-Patt and the Springfield-Beckley airport will join together for groundbreaking innovation and research to strengthen our overall war-fighting capabilities in air, space, and cyberspace forces,” concluded Turner. 

“This grant recognizes the importance of Springfield’s National Advanced Air Mobility Center of Excellence to Wright-Patterson and the Defense Department in developing this emerging aerospace technology. The region is well on its way to becoming the hub of defense-related as well as commercial advances in flying cars. Congressman Turner has been instrumental in supporting the grant program and shaping it to help our region.”Jeff Hoagland, President & CEO, Dayton Development Coalition

Background: The grant was awarded through the Defense Community Infrastructure Program (DCIP) established in the FY19 NDAA. The FY19 NDAA created the program designating the Secretary of Defense to develop how these grants were awarded. After evaluating the distribution system, Rep. Turner advocated switching the requirements of how these grants were awarded in the FY NDAA 21 to allow for a more robust selection process. As a result, the City of Springfield was awarded this grant for AFRL’s research project. Air Force Research Lab, housed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, is a global technical enterprise, leading the discovery, development, and integration of affordable warfighting technologies for our air, space, and cyberspace force.

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