00:00Senator Hovind, then Senator Schatz, and Senator Bozeman.
00:07Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
00:08I want to thank you for being here, and I want to thank you for your service as well,
00:13Mr. Secretary-General, we appreciate it.
00:17I want to talk about our strategic defense, and in two aspects.
00:21One is our nuclear forces, and then the Golden Dome concept.
00:25And if you think about it, you know, they really go together.
00:29In other words, our nuclear forces, the nuclear triad is what has kept any country from ever
00:34challenging us with any kind of nuclear weapon, right?
00:38And it's done that since World War II.
00:40So it's vitally important that we maintain the strongest nuclear arsenal in the world.
00:45Would you agree with that, Mr. Secretary, and also General?
00:48Senator, no doubt.
00:51Our nuclear triad is the silent foundation of our entire deterrent effect.
00:57And that's why this budget fully funds all three legs of the triad and makes sure we're
01:02leaning forward in ensuring we have the most capable nuclear deterrent possible.
01:07General?
01:08Sir, I'd agree with that, sir.
01:10It is the bedrock on which all our conventional forces reside.
01:15So we've got to update our nuclear forces to make sure that they're always superior to any near-peer adversary.
01:21That's the Sentinel program.
01:24Now, in 2025, $1.7 billion was taken out, which we are putting back in through reconciliation.
01:31And there's 4.1 in 26 versus the 5 that was originally asked for by Air Force.
01:37But that's an overlap in terms of it's actually only 2.6 because that 1.5 is being brought back in.
01:44I want to know, and I want assurances, I'd like assurances from both of you that that effort with Sentinel will be funded so that we stay on schedule with that vital upgrade.
01:58Secretary?
01:59If you want, we could have Bryn speak specifically to that, that we are funding it fully.
02:03Yeah, the key question here is a commitment to keep that on schedule.
02:08Yes, sir. The Sentinel is fully funded. The only reductions in 26 were a reflection of the Nunn-McCurdy breach that the Sentinel program experienced.
02:16But since then, there's been a restructuring, which the Secretary can speak to.
02:19And Secretary and General, you all are committed to keeping that on schedule and providing the funding to do it?
02:24The challenge with that program has been how it was administered from the beginning, which everyone in this committee is aware of, leading to the Nunn-McCurdy breach, leading to an understanding of how we do it properly.
02:34We are putting our best people with a daily focus on this program to get it back on track, because that's how important it is.
02:41So you are committed to keeping it on schedule. And Nunn-McCurdy, General of the Air Force, I want to come in.
02:46They've done some good work, and we've worked closely with them, but we need a commitment to keep the funding going to keep them on schedule as well, with the revisions based on Nunn-McCurdy.
02:56The funding is there, Senator. It will be incumbent on the service and others to keep that on track. But it has not, thus far, been a program that's done that.
03:05Right. But I'm not criticizing you. I'm trying to make sure you're committed to keeping it, that funding, in place to do it. Is that the case?
03:13The funding is in the budget for FY26, completely.
03:16Okay. General?
03:18Sir, I'm guessing you know that in my job, I don't actually fund anything, I just recommend it, advocate for, so I'm going to defer to my bosses to the left on that.
03:29I understand, but there's a difference between what you all in the Air Force have asked for and what's in the budget.
03:35I understand the Nunn-McCurdy adjustments. I just want to make, and we're working closely with Air Force, and we'll continue to, I just want to make sure the commitment's there.
03:42Sir, you've got my support to continue to advocate for the program through the Air Force and through the Chief and the Secretary down there.
03:49Thank you, sir. And then I want to flip to the other side of the coin, which now is Golden Dome. I mean, we've got the nuclear forces, so nobody ever tries to fire a missile at us, right?
03:58And then with the Golden Dome, it's, well, I guess if they do, we're going to take it out. Now, in that regard, you've got a number of programs that are critically important to our capabilities
04:09to make sure that we have better technology for our forces than our near-peer.
04:13So, for example, TRMC, Test Resource Management Center at Air Force, we're now developing the Sky Range Program at the Grand Forks Air Force Base, which enables us to test hypersonic missiles.
04:24I wonder, George Rumford leads that program. I wonder, understand your commitment to that program.
04:30To drone counter drone, which we're seeing, is so important. And again, we've got both a test site as well as Grand Sky Technology Park on the Grand Forks Air Force Base.
04:40Your commitment to upgrading ISR, not just trying to do everything from satellites. So think next-gen ISR taking beyond Global Hawk, right?
04:50What you need in places like, whether it's supporting Ukraine or certainly in the Middle East, and like the very good work you did taking out the Houthis and putting a stop to that nonsense, okay?
05:01And then also SDA and the low-Earth orbit satellites. Starting with you, Secretary, talk about your commitment to those programs.
05:11And if you agree, they're vitally important, both in terms of achieving Golden Dome, but in terms of our near-peer challenges, in terms of maintaining our capabilities, our superiority.
05:22And same thing, General, I would put the same question to you as well.
05:26Well, Senator, I certainly agree about your lens. Your lens is near-peer adversaries, capabilities to threats, and defending the homeland.
05:33Things like hypersonics, like UAS, counter-UAS, ISR, critical to that. That's why there's robust increases in those budgets in all of those places,
05:44both for how they might be applied in the Indo-Pacific or elsewhere, but also integrated into the Golden Dome.
05:50Senator Schatz?
05:52Could the General respond?
05:55Sir, I'd echo the Secretary's response. The effects are the key, and we'll stay close on the effects that you're trying to achieve,
06:04and I appreciate your advocacy for those effects.
06:07Yeah, I'm going to continue to work very hard to make sure that we have resources going into those programs,
06:13because that's where, as they say in hockey, that's where the puck's going.
06:16Yes, sir. Thank you. We'll take all resources at all times, sir. Thank you.
06:20Thank you, Chairman.
06:20Secretary, thank you for being here. Good to meet you.
