Tester Secures More Than $422 Million for Malmstrom Weapons Storage Upgrades

Funding will build Malmstrom’s Weapons Storage and Maintenance Facility

U.S. Senator Jon Tester announced today that he secured $422,922,651 in funding for critical upgrades to Malmstrom Airforce Base. The funding will be used to build Malmstrom’s Weapons Storage and Maintenance Facility.

“Montana’s very own Malmstrom Air Force Base is critically important to our nation’s defense and our nuclear deterrent capabilities,” said Tester. “That’s why I’m proud to have secured this funding that will provide major upgrades to Malmstrom’s Weapons Storage and Maintenance Facility. I’ll keep working with Republicans and Democrats to make sure our airmen and women at Malmstrom have the tools they need to protect our freedoms.”

Tester fought to secure this funding in his role as a leading member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. This project will:

• Construct an earth-covered reinforced concrete weapons storage facility combining storage and maintenance functions into a single hardened facility. 
• Construct a Remote Targeting Engagement System tower, weather shelter, and supporting fire pump building. 

In April, Tester brought Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and top Air Force leadership to Malmstrom Air Force Base and the Montana Air National Guard’s 120th Airlift Wing to meet directly with servicemembers, discuss DOD’s response to incidents of rare cancers among missileers, assess readiness capabilities as Congress works on next year’s military budget, and receive updates on Malmstrom’s response to the Chinese spy balloon. As the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, Tester is responsible for crafting the annual Senate Defense Appropriations Bill which funds the entire Department of Defense – including the entire Air Force and operations at Malmstrom Air Force Base.