(The Center Square) – Florida’s military bases could receive $488 million from the Department of Defense’s fiscal 2025 appropriation if President Joe Biden signs the bill into law.
The bill was passed by the U.S. House on Wednesday and is now under consideration by the U.S. Senate.
The biggest outlay would be for Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, which could receive $221 million to build a new engineering test facility.
Naval Station Key West, which hosts the Joint Inter-Agency Task Force South’s headquarters, would receive $90 million to build a new facility for it.
The Marine Corps’ facility at Blount Island in Jacksonville could receive $64.9 million for a lighterage and small craft facility. Blount Island helps maintain and stock the service’s maritime prepositioning ships, which are loaded with enough equipment, ammunition and other supplies to keep a Marine Air-Ground Task Force fighting for 30 days.
Tyndall Air Force Base east of Panama City would receive $48 million for a new fire/crash rescue station. The base, leveled by Category 5 Hurricane Michael in 2018, is now host to the 325th Fighter Wing that will eventually have 70 F-35s assigned.
The Florida Air National Guard’s base at Jacksonville International Airport would receive $26.2 million for an F-35 weapons training facility. The 125th Fighter Wing is in the process of converting from aging F-15 Eagles to F-35 Lightning II aircraft.
Hurlburt Field near Fort Walton Beach would receive $14 million for an Air Force Special Operations Command operations facility.
Eglin Air Force Base would receive $23.9 million for various construction projects, including $10 million for an electromagnetic specturm operations superiority complex and $8.4 million for a development facility for the AGM-181 Long Range Stand Off Weapon, a nuclear-armed air-launched cruise missile that will be used by the B-52 and new B-21 Raider bombers.
The LRSO missile will replace the Cold War-vintage AGM-86 Air Launched Cruise Missile.
