WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), a member of the Armed Services Committee, joined her colleagues in passing the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 NDAA out of Committee.

“Tennessee is home to a fearless group of warfighters,” said Senator Blackburn. “Our military and research communities in Clarksville, Tullahoma, Oak Ridge, Millington, and Holston help our nation fight battles and win wars. My work in this Committee-passed legislation will empower our servicemembers’ defense capabilities as they continue to face threats from the New Axis of Evil and challenge global threats to democracy.”

Key Points:

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Will Support Tennessee By:

• Encouraging additional funding for defense capabilities and partnering with private sector developers along with additional research at Vanderbilt University; the University of Memphis; Tennessee Technological University; University of Tennessee Space Institute at Tullahoma; the University of Tennessee at Knoxville; Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU); Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE); and more.
• Increasing funding by $4.2 million to support defensive and offensive cyber protections, firewall protections, Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based intrusion detection, and data encryption for the Department of Defense (DoD) autonomous vehicles for Fort Campbell;
• Supporting companies such as General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., who spent $8 million on subcontractors in Tennessee in 2020, with additional funding and authorities for the MQ-9 program;
• Authorizing the Future Force Requirements Experimentation (FFRE) program to develop the next generation of technology innovation. Vanderbilt and the University of Tennessee are collaborating with the 101st Airborne and 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR), 5th Group, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, University of Tennessee at Martin, University of Tennessee Space Institute in Tullahoma, and University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis;
• Procuring additional Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters for Fort Campbell, 101st Airborne, and 160th SOAR while supporting increased funding for the Army’s Future Vertical Lift (FVL) line of effort;
• Increasing funding by $25 million for nuclear modernization projects at the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) program at Y-12 National Security Complex;
• Putting enhanced focus on the vital work of Holston Army Ammunition Plant (HSAAP), which supplies energetics to support U.S., Allies, and partners – including in Ukraine; and
• Advancing domestic uranium enrichment capability with Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL) by establishing and implementing long-term plans for continued research, development, and demonstration of enrichment technologies to support deployment decisions.