ROCK ISLAND, ILLINOIS (February 2, 2026) — Earlier this month, Congress passed the Fiscal Year 2026 defense appropriations bill which funds the Department of War for the current year (October 1, 2025 — September 30, 2026). The Rock Island Arsenal Defense Alliance (RIADA) worked hard to advocate for Rock Island Arsenal needs with our bi-state congressional delegations. Thanks to the incredible legislative support by the Iowa and Illinois delegations, this year’s bill includes the following strong funding for Rock Island Arsenal and the Quad Cities region:
- $100 million for the Arsenal Sustainment Initiative to continue to stabilize labor rates at all three US Army arsenals (RIA is one of the three). This sustainment initiative includes increased authorities for public-private partnerships (P3) between the Army Arsenals, manufacturers, and universities to innovate and scale new technologies and processes. This Arsenal Sustainment Initiative offers increased tools to the Rock Island Arsenal Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center (JMTC) operationalize and scale the manufacturing of unmanned aircraft systems under the Sky Foundry program.
- $80.5 million to continue manufacturing of the Shop Equipment Contact Maintenance Vehicles (SECM) program as part of the AM General/RIA partnership. The SECM platform is an expeditionary wheeled-vehicle maintenance support platform that US Army units use to conduct forward field maintenance.
- $18 million in additional funding for the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP), a program that sustained US Army Corps of Engineers Rock Island District workloads on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers for the next several years.
- $5 million for the Additive and Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence to help sustain the Center by transitioning the Jointless Hull printer into a production level tool that supports the development of aviation parts by major defense contractors. The project aims to attract additional major defense contractors to partner with JMTC and utilize their additive and advanced manufacturing equipment.
- $9 million for research on “soft recoil for extended range artillery systems.” Soft Recoil Technology (SRT) is critical to the lethality, survivability, sustainability, mobility, and performance of US Army and Marine Corps artillery on the current and future battlefields by allowing larger guns to be places on lighter, more mobile platforms, such as the High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) platform.
- $3 milion for Robotics Autonomous Floating Transit System, a program that supports a partnership at JMTC and brings back a program that used to be produced at Rock Island Arsenal. The funding helps develop systems that enhance Army logistics capabilities in austere locations.
- $1 million to continue efforts to attract state-of-the art rapid 3D printing capabilities at the Additive and Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence. This capability is critical to supporting the Army's Sky Foundry effort and goal of producing over 10,000 drones per month. This funding helps to ensure Rock Island Arsenal remains central and critical to this effort.
Additionally, this year’s defense appropriations bill included strong funding for a Quad Cities Manufacturing Institute (QCMI) project. Specifically, it included $10 million in R&D funding for qualifications for battle damage and repair of Army vehicles. This project will help to demonstrate the unique research and development capabilities of QCMI to help address a critical challenge the Army has identified which needs more advanced solutions to meet current and future operational requirements. Further, this funding will help to continue a critical partnership between QCMI and the Ground Vehicle Systems Center — the Army's premiere center for research and development of ground vehicle systems.
About RIADA
The Rock Island Arsenal Defense Alliance (RIADA) is a community-led QC Chamber-affiliated 501c6 non-profit corporation, dedicated to the support and promotion of the Rock Island Arsenal and Quad Cities region's defense industry. RIADA was established to promote the continued health and vitality of Rock Island Arsenal (RIA) as a significant contributor to our national defense and major employer in the QC. In doing so, RIADA seeks to defend the existing missions and employment on RIA and seek opportunities to add additional missions and employment. In addition, RIADA seeks to support and promote defense industries located in the QC.
