And for North Dakota, Democratic Sen. Byron Dorgan said he has glommed $1 million in the 2006 defense spending bill to create a center of excellence at the University Of North Dakota to support the new unmanned aerial vehicle destined for Grand Forks AFB, N.D. Indeed, Air Force officials extolled the advantage accrued to Grand Forks from its proximity to UND’s School of Aerospace Science. Quoting Dorgan: “This program is another example of how we can strengthen our country while linking up our existing economic and research engines to create new opportunities for our state.” Dorgan is not done. There’s also money to come from the FAA for this UAV center of excellence. Of course, Nevada still has the Pentagon’s UAV center of excellence.
The Air Force has finished modifying and testing the new VC-25B Bridge aircraft that will serve as a temporary Air Force One, the service announced May 1. All that’s left now is to finish painting the jet before it starts flying this summer.