President Donald Trump delivered “a little breaking news” to supporters at a midterm campaign rally in Montana on Wednesday, announcing that the Pentagon would establish a new military “super range” in the state to test cutting-edge weapons and warfare technology.
The president said the range would support testing of potential autonomous weapons, space and electronic warfare technology, and supersonic and hypersonic systems, positioning Montana to play a greater role in the development of America’s next-generation military capabilities.
“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,” Trump told supporters gathered at Majestic Valley Arena in Kalispell.
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Trump suggested the project had been highly sought after elsewhere in the country.
“The rest of our country maybe won’t be thrilled because a lot of other people wanted it also,” Trump said.
The president also credited persistent lobbying from Montana’s Republican lawmakers, joking that Sen. Tim Sheehy had repeatedly pressed him to bring the project to the state.
“You’re getting it, everybody, will you please leave me alone?” Trump quipped. “Leave me alone, Tim. Tim Sheehy would drive me crazy.”
The announcement places Montana at the center of a proposed military testing initiative involving some of the Pentagon’s most sophisticated emerging technologies.
Hypersonic weapons, which can travel at least five times the speed of sound, are among the advanced military capabilities under development by the Pentagon, according to the Government Accountability Office. The War Department has also identified autonomous systems and electronic warfare capabilities as areas of strategic importance.
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Trump did not specify where in Montana the new range would be located, how much the project would cost or when testing operations would begin.
“Montana will help ensure the American military always reigned supreme,” the president told the crowd.
Trump made the announcement during his second campaign rally of the day and third stop on a Western swing aimed at supporting Republican candidates ahead of the midterm elections.
The president appeared in Montana’s 1st Congressional District to campaign for House candidate Aaron Flint and Senate candidate Kurt Alme, after holding a rally in Arizona earlier Wednesday. He also campaigned in Alaska on Tuesday.