KALISPELL, Montana, Oct 14 (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced plans for what he described as a new defense “super range” in Montana for testing advanced military technologies, including autonomous weapons, space systems, electronic warfare and hypersonic weapons.
The president made the announcement at a campaign event in Kalispell, Montana, a city of about 30,000 people some 200 miles (320 km) northwest of the capital Helena, his latest stop on a tour supporting Republican candidates in multiple states ahead of November 3 midterm elections. The stop was part of a broader push amid unexpectedly tight battles in Republican-leaning states.
“I’m pleased to inform you and announce that right here in Montana, the Department of War is going to establish a new super range for testing advanced weapons and technologies, technologies including potential autonomous weapons, space, and electronic warfare technology, supersonics and hypersonics,” Trump said.
“Montana will help ensure the American military always reigns supreme,” he said.
The state is already home to the Montana Spaceport & Test Range and the affiliated Limestone Hills Innovation & Test Campus, a public-private aerospace and defense initiative that promotes testing facilities and infrastructure for commercial, civil and military applications.
Trump did not say whether the new Pentagon initiative would have ties with the existing project.
Some military planners see autonomous weapons, space systems, electronic warfare and hypersonic weapons as central to the future of warfare, incorporating drones and AI-enabled platforms at lower costs with less risk for military personnel.
Trump has already promoted space defense, creating the Space Force as a separate branch of the armed forces in 2019.
Supersonic and hypersonic weapons travel at speeds above Mach 1 and Mach 5 respectively.
Trump has been announcing government projects on campaign stops for the midterms, when all 435 seats in the US House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 US Senate seats will be decided.
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, California, and Evan Vucci in Kalisepell; Editing by Donna Bryson and Kate Mayberry)