Southgate News Herald: Peters talks about defense manufacturing, cybersecurity and self-driving cars during address to local business leaders

When he spoke at the monthly Southern Wayne County Legislative Forum, Sen. Gary Peters (D-Michigan) touched on a lot of issues he feels are key to moving Michigan forward.

Peters was the guest at the Feb. 28 lunch forum held in Southgate.

During the forum, Peters highlighted issues of great importance to Wayne County and Southeast Michigan, including the future of self-driving cars, cybersecurity and Michigan’s growing defense manufacturing sector.

Peters is the junior Senator from Michigan, having also served in the House of Representatives. He won election when Carl Levin retired in 2015. Despite his junior status, Peters has quickly become a respected member of the Senate. He was recently appointed to the Senate Armed Forces Committee.

He said Michigan has many critical military assets, including Selfridge Air National Guard Base and Battle Creek Air National Guard Base.

“Michigan is already leading the way in shaping the future of mobility, and the innovative work happening in our state will not only bring self-driving cars to our roads but will strengthen America’s military and spur small business growth,” Peters said. “Michigan is home to over 16,000 service members and critical military operations.”

Peters also discussed his support for bringing a new F-35 mission to Selfridge Air National Guard Base. The base is a finalist to host the new F-35 mission. Senator Peters highlighted the military operations at Battle Creek Air National Guard Base, including the use of Remote Piloted Aircraft (RPAs) around the world, which are operated remotely from Battle Creek, and a new cyber operations squadron that will be based in Battle Creek.