The Pentagon spending bill approved this week by the Senate in Washington contains two pieces of good news for the Macomb County defense corridor, which has been called the “defense capital of the Midwest.”

The massive, $716 billion defense bill includes millions of dollars for upgrades to the A-10 aircraft stationed at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township and for the Army Tank-Automotive Command (TACOM) headquarters in Warren.

“This legislation will bolster initiatives already underway in our state — from developing the Next Generation Ground Vehicle to assessing military vehicle capabilities under extreme winter weather — while reaffirming the importance of the A-10 and the critical role it continues to play in our national security,” Michigan Sen. Gary Peters said in a press release.

A-10 aircraft

The Senate’s version of the defense authorization bill adds $65 million to a long-term project to improve or replace the wings on the A-10 jets, also known as “Warthogs,” for a total of $144 million. The Air Force warned last year that it might be forced to ground three of the nine combat squadrons of A-10 jets due to a lack of funding for the re-winging operation, even as the Warthogs have played a key role in Iraq, Afghanistan and in the fight against ISIS.

At TACOM, the funding bill provides $70 million to develop the Army’s Next Generation Ground Vehicle (NGCV), with prototypes (the drawing above offers one concept) that feature state-of-the-art technology. TACOM was recently chosen by the Pentagon to lead a team of designers and engineers who will create the vehicle. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley told a Senate committee in April that the NCGV must be able to operate in the field “manned and unmanned, either autonomous or semi-autonomous.”

The Pentagon hopes to have defense contracts in place in time for production starting in 2028.

The Senate authorization bill, approved by an 85-10 margin on Monday, clears the way for a joint House-Senate conference committee to work out the differences between the two versions of the legislation.

Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel first labeled Macomb as the “defense capital of the Midwest” several years ago based on the major contractors located along the Mound/Van Dyke corridor, such as General Dynamics and BAE, plus the defense industry suppliers that secured 3,000 defense contracts totaling more than $1.4 billion.

The county planning department works closely with the Michigan Defense Center in Sterling Heights to develop strategies for attracting key global defense and homeland security companies to the state.

Michigan’s defense sector supports more than 100,000 jobs in the state and produces $9 billion in products and services annually.