October 13, 2009
Foster's

KITTERY, Maine — The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard would be more secure and a Rochester-based engineering company would make U.S. Army helicopters more structurally sound with defense funding that was recently secured by U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter.

On Thursday, the Rochester Democrat's office announced she has secured more than $26 million for Granite State military contractors in the Fiscal 2010 National Defense Authorization Act. The bill was approved by the House last week and is expected to be passed by the Senate this week.

The shipyard would receive $7.09 million for security improvements while Rochester-based Albany Engineering Composites would receive $2 million to build helicopter frames.

The shipyard funding would go toward antiterrorism measures at its Gate 2 security checkpoint. Those include a new hardened guard house, barriers, a permanent vehicle inspection shelter, an intrusion detection system and other upgrades. The gates are the shipyard's first line of defense against terrorist attacks.

Albany Engineering Composites' funding would go toward "robust composite structural core" frames for U.S. Army helicopters. They will replace the current "honeycomb" frame, which Shea-Porter's office said are fragile, expensive to maintain and prone to failure. The U.S. Navy has banned the honeycomb frames on their aircraft.

Other funding for Granite State contractors includes:

-$10 million for the Air National Guard to replace squadron operations facilities.

-$5 million for Hudson-based Polartec for multi-climate clothing for Navy aircrews.

-$2.25 million for the New Hampshire National Guard to acquire a communications command vehicle for natural disasters.

"I am pleased that this important funding was included in the National Defense Authorization Act. I supported these projects because they will boost our local economy and help keep our country safe," Shea-Porter said in a statement.