08.22.25

Hoeven Outlines Project ULTRA’s Potential for Expanding UAS, Counter-UAS Capabilities to General Bussiere

Senator Leveraging Visit by Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Nominee to Advance Project ULTRA, Future ISR Mission at Grand Forks Air Force Base

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee, today met with General Thomas Bussiere at the Grand Forks Air Force Base and GrandSKY. Bussiere currently serves as Commander of Global Strike Command and has been nominated to serve as the next Air Force Vice Chief of Staff. Accordingly, Hoeven is leveraging the visit as an opportunity to:

  • Outline the work of Project ULTRA, highlighting opportunities for the initiative to expand the military’s unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and counter-UAS capabilities.
    • Hoeven stressed how Project ULTRA can benefit a wide range of military activities and is already slated to begin counter-UAS work this year.
    • The senator has secured an additional $8 million for UAS and counter-UAS research in the Senate’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 funding legislation, for which Project ULTRA will be eligible.
    • Further, Hoeven has drafted legislation authorizing the Air Force to conduct a pilot project that would use drones to resupply remote facilities that support nuclear missiles, like those in Minot.
      • Hoeven’s legislation is included in the Senate’s FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act.
  • Discuss bringing a future intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) mission to Grand Forks Air Force Base.
    • Hoeven is working to ensure the military has sufficient ISR capacity to support warfighters across the globe.
    • The senator is advancing both airborne and space-based missions as opportunities to expand ISR operations in Grand Forks.
  • Visit the B-1B Lancer bomber mission that has been temporarily relocated to Grand Forks Air Force from Ellsworth Air Force Base.
    • Hoeven discussed the possibility of hosting a future B-1B mission from Dyess Air Force Base, noting how continued efforts to invest in Grand Forks’ systems and infrastructure have made the base the ideal location to support such missions while updates are made to their home bases.

“Project ULTRA is an efficient, cost-effective method for realizing the potential benefits of UAS to a wide range of military operations, and we’re working to expand the innovative work being undertaken at GrandSKY,” said Hoeven. “Considering his nomination as Air Force Vice Chief of Staff, General Bussiere’s visit is a welcome opportunity to showcase the unique capabilities of Project ULTRA and our UAS ecosystem, while making the case for additional partnerships, like the proposal we’re advancing to use drones to supply our missile fields. At the same time, the UAS infrastructure and systems we’ve built up in the region would serve a future ISR mission well, and we continue to make the case for bringing such an operation to Grand Forks.”

 

 

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