SCHUMER, GILLIBRAND, AT RIBBON CUTTING FOR THE ROME AIR FORCE RESEARCH LAB’S NEW STATE OF THE ART EXTREME COMPUTING FACILITY, ANNOUNCE THEY HAVE SECURED $44+ MILLION IN SENATE DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS BILL TO SUPERCHARGE MOHAWK VALLEY AS LEADER IN QUANTUM COMPUTING

Schumer & Gillibrand Delivered Critical Funding To Build Rome Air Force Research Lab’s New Extreme Computing Facility For Vital National Defense Research Using The Most Cutting-Edge Quantum Computing Technology Working In Partnership With The Griffiss Institute

Now Senators Reveal They Have Secured $44M In New Funding For Rome In Senate Defense Appropriations Bill To Grow Quantum Computing Programs Even Further – Helping Supercharge AFRL As America’s Leader In Global Quantum Computing Race

Schumer, Gillibrand: Major New Funding Will Supercharge Rome Lab & Mohawk Valley To Take Us To The Next Frontier – And Ensure America Remains #1 For Quantum Computing

After cutting the ribbon on Rome Air Force Research Lab’s (AFRL) new state of the art Extreme Computing Facility, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand revealed they have secured $44 million in new federal funding in the Senate Defense Appropriations Bill. Schumer and Gillibrand said this new major infusion of funds will supercharge the growth of quantum computing, critical to maintaining the U.S.’s competitive edge, and solidifying the Mohawk Valley as home to America’s premier cutting-edge military research facility.

“The Rome Lab and powerhouse workforce of the Mohawk Valley are going to be the ones to take us to the next frontier and ensure America leads the globe in the quantum computing super race. The Extreme Computing Facility opening today is only the beginning, I am proud to announce that I have secured over $44 million in the Senate Defense Appropriations Bill to supercharge these efforts, bolster our national security, and make sure Rome Lab is America’s leader in quantum computing and UAS technology,” said Senator Schumer.  “This funding means that the next generation of the most advanced computers and technological research for our most sensitive military applications will happen right here at the Rome Lab. Now more than ever, we need to ensure that our nation stays ahead of our international competitors in virtual battle fields, and ensure the technology of tomorrow is developed right here in the Mohawk Valley.”

“The Rome Air Force Research Laboratory has garnered a reputation as one of America’s premier military research facilities, and this new Extreme Computing Facility will ensure that we remain a leader in advanced computing,” said Senator Gillibrand. “I am proud to have worked to secure this new funding and will continue to fight to ensure the Mohawk Valley is leading the way in defense research.”

“Today we are opening the new extreme computing lab here at AFRL. This facility continues on our strategic investments made by the county, state and federal government. We continue to see the growth of these investments including the world largest indoor UAS test site in Skydome, the Innovare Advancement Center and now this state of the art facility. Together, Oneida County is a national leader in quantum computing research and development. I want to thank Senators Schumer and Gillibrand for their effort to bring this critical funding to AFRL here in Oneida County,” said Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente Jr.

“We are very thankful for Senators Schumer and Gillibrand’s continued advocacy of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). The establishment of the new Extreme Computing Facility furthers the critical research and development to foster the growth of quantum computing, artificial intelligence, UAS (drones) and more, all vital to our national defense structure. The Senators announcement of new funding for R&D totaling in the tens of millions of dollars ensures the AFRL professionals will have the tools necessary to develop new systems related to quantum computing and cybersecurity to protect our country from external threats,” said Rome Mayor Jacqueline M. Izzo.

“This Extreme Computing Facility marks a new era in the accelerated development, integration, and deployment of advanced computing technologies for the Department of the Air Force. The state-of-the-art laboratories for trusted computing, machine learning, neuromorphic and nanocomputing, and quantum networking will advance our competitive edge in extreme computing. We thank the Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, leadership, and our federal partners for championing the revolutionary technologies in development at the AFRL Information Directorate in direct support of our warfighters,” said Dr. Michael Hayduk, Deputy Director, Air Force Research Lab Information Directorate.

Schumer and Gillibrand explained that this year in the Senate Defense Appropriations markup, the AFRL Rome received funding for five major projects that will continue the lab’s position as a premier cutting-edge military research facility. This includes: 

1. $10 million for Distributed Quantum Networking Testbed and Quantum Cloud Computing Environment
2. $4 million for Photonic Quantum Computing, which will develop a next-generation ion trap computer. 
3. $10 million for a Trusted DoD/Federal UAS Traffic Management (UTM) Advanced Air Mobility Enhancements and Operational Readiness. This system will manage Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) traffic to support the emerging FAA/NASA Advanced Air Mobility vision and provide a real-time interface to Air Traffic Control.
4. $10million for a Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) testbed which creates an operational-like environment which allows the warfighter to test cutting-edge technology and tools and provide feedback for researchers.
5. $10 million for a Multi-Domain Radio Frequency Spectrum Test Environment. AFRL’s project are vital to ensuring the U.S. military maintains the technological edge over its adversaries.

The senators said that as China invests heavily in quantum computing research, AFRL Rome’s work ensures that the U.S. pushes ahead on this critically important technology.

AFRL’s newly completed “Extreme Computing” facility that the senators cut the ribbon on today is a direct result of 7.5 million in funding that Schumer and Gillibrand secured across the FY’20-22 budget. The new AFRL facility is the counterpart to the Griffiss Institute’s Innovare Advancement Center: the off-installation, open collaboration environment for advancing innovation with industry and academic partners that the senators also helped fund. The AFRL and Griffiss Institute facilities are complimentary, which affords AFRL the ability to do basic research off-installation that can be transitioned to analogous facilities on-installation for classified defense research vital to our national security, and vice versa, providing a streamlined mechanism for collaboration and technology transfer between DoD, industry partners, and academia. The AFRL Extreme Computing facility is focused on basic research for national defense applications and is headlined by two quantum computing laboratories for basic research in quantum computing, networking, and security and two neuromorphic computing laboratories for basic research in machine learning models approximating human neurocognition.

Located in Oneida County, one of Rome Lab’s primary focuses is gathering and processing cyber intelligence. Since 1997, it has been the USAF’s “Superlab” and is considered the nation’s premier research organization for Command, Control, Communications, Cyber and Intelligence (C4I) technologies. The lab focuses on developing information technology for air, space and ground systems, in addition to partnering with other federal agencies, universities, private industry and other state and local governments. Schumer and Gillibrand have been especially supportive of the Lab’s quantum computing research in recent years, helping secure tens of millions of dollars that helped fund the ‘Quantum Information Science Innovation Center’ - also known at Innovare Advancement Center –in Rome. Additionally, the senators helped secure millions of dollars to help launch Sky Dome, an indoor UAS testing facility that is part of the UAS Test Site at Griffiss International Airport in Rome.

In 2021, following the senators’ direct advocacy Rome Lab was designated as the Quantum Information Science Research Center for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force. This laid the foundation for the funding this year for the “Quantum Computing Test Bed” at the Innovare Advancement Center, which aims to be a global catalyst to converge world-class talent in areas including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and quantum, to tackle the country’s greatest challenges to national security and economic competitiveness.

Rome Lab is also a source of growth for the regional economy and a major source of employment. According to the U.S. Air Force’s 2020 economic impact analysis, Rome Lab employed over 1,200 workers with an annual payroll of $150 million and generated over $500 million in regional economic activity. The U.S. Air Force’s economic impact study can be found here. Because of Rome Lab’s strong commitment to excellence in developing and enhancing this nation’s cybersecurity infrastructure, as well as its commitment to employing local residents with good-paying jobs, Schumer and Gillibrand have long fought to ensure Rome Lab has what it needs to succeed and maintain its strong workforce. 

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