▶ 0:08:09Subcommittee will come to order. I ask unanimous consent that the chair be authorized to declare a recess at any time. Without objection, so ordered. Good afternoon and thank you all for being here for today's hearing.
▶ 0:08:22As we discuss the Navy's needs and the Sea Power and Projection Forces Subcommittee's jurisdiction for the upcoming fiscal year, I'm pleased that we have both the 30-year shipbuilding plan and the future wars defense program to help inform our discussion here The global threat environment has only grown more complex and nuanced over the last year. Now more than ever, we have had to turn the tide of divestment. Retiring more holes than we procure is simply not an option anymore.
▶ 0:08:49We're not going to sacrifice capability in a critical window for deterrence. For starters, we need to keep our rate of procuring two Virginia-class submarines per year and ensuring our production rate improves. We also need to speed up both production and procurement of amphibs. Our current procure procurement timelines are hamstringing our Marine Corps and making continuous 3.0 ARG/MEU presence more and more difficult.
▶ 0:09:16These and countless other programs have long been hampered by hot and cold demand signals from Congress. But as we work together to revitalize our maritime industrial base and begin putting money towards the arsenal of the future, there's no way that this is not a way to be doing business. We could discuss shipbuilding for the entire hearing as we often do around here, but I cannot neglect the aviation and munitions programs that are needed to for great power competition.
▶ 0:09:41I look forward to discussing the plans for critical platforms like the P8 and the as well as critical munitions like the SM-6 and heavyweight torpedoes that underpin our deterrent posture. These and so many other programs are essential to projecting peace through strength around the globe. I'm encouraged by the strong budget authority for shipbuilding, aviation platforms, and critical munitions requested in the president's historic budget.
▶ 0:10:06But I also recognize that these are the first steps in what will be a long efforts towards a thriving national defense and a rejuvenated defense industrial base. Only then can we truly deliver on the promises of peace through strength. I I now recognize my good friend ranking member Joe Courtney for any opening remarks he might have. Thank you um
▶ 0:10:25Mr. Chairman, thank you um to our great panel uh today. Um as a member of this committee for the last 20 years, I want to preface my remarks with the observation that there is a lot to like uh in the budget that was sent over uh by the department and the administration which I will lay out.
▶ 0:10:40I have to say at the beginning though that the insistence of the Office of Management and Budget to once again splinter the budget in two via a reconciliation bill, in my opinion, undercuts the goal of procurement stability uh which again is really necessary to achieve the goal of supercharging the industrial base which again Chairman Rogers and ranking member Smith have indicated is really sort of the number one priority um in this this Starting with the positive, the request for $34 billion across Columbia, Virginia, and next generation submarine programs
▶ 0:11:10will enable our shipyards to continue their positive momentum and to to grow to grow Navy's undersea fleet [clears throat] which today still dominates uh across the the globe and further enables us to fulfill our AUKUS commitments. US submarine tonnage output has now in in 2026 reached Cold War levels In Columbia's first-of-class submarine, the District of Columbia actually moved up its delivery date to 2028 from 2029.
▶ 0:11:39Wage improvement funding, which Congress first appropriated in FY25, is also integral to our ability to increase submarine production. In Southern New England, attrition is now below 8% in the shipyards, which is the lowest uh that they've seen since the pandemic. I'm pleased that the Navy has continued its commitment to these wages in this year's discretionary budget request. I'm also pleased to see significant requests for auxiliary and support vessels, including submarine tenders, oilers, and strategic sealift.
▶ 0:12:08It is not possible to revitalize the US [clears throat] maritime industrial base with combatant vessels alone, and I'm glad to see that this subcommittee's long-held belief uh in terms of supporting this end of the fleet is finally getting uh traction. The robust request for 12 P-8s is a needed boost. P-8s are critical assets to our Navy and also uh to those to our allies and partners uh who help defend our homeland from adversaries' subsea capabilities.
▶ 0:12:34The recent news that news of the PMA MQ-25A completed milestone C and will move the program to production and deployment also is um welcome news and is going to really help uh the Navy with a more diverse aerial refueling options and greatly improve naval aviation read- readiness.
▶ 0:12:54As I said at the outset, the entire Department of the Navy's uh shipbuilding 20 38.8 billion is locked behind the administration's insistence on using uh a reconciliation process for, again, the total budget in in the department, uh which is 1.5 trillion. Uh 350 billion of that is going to be reconciliation.
▶ 0:13:14This bifurcated funding in FY26 created a lot of confusion last year in the industrial base because the Office of Management and Budget, which has unfettered control over that money, rather than then congressional line items. It has also come to my attention yesterday that there is concern about a potential ambiguity in the FY26 appropriation language and how it relates to FY24's multi-year for the block six contract.
▶ 0:13:41This last-minute development is yet another example of the need to follow regular appropriations order and authorizations order and stop relying on CRs and reconciliation packages, which again, because of the confusion can allow boilerplate language to suddenly create some new challenges and and concerns. And I will be asking the witness, Mr. Potter, again a question about that in a few minutes.
▶ 0:14:06Um, you know, under the purview of this subcommittee, 5.6 billion of total shipbuilding funds are locked behind reconciliation and chief among my concern is that again, the six medium landing ships, which is again, you know, much needed asset for the Marine Corps is a part of that 5.6 billion reconciliation.
▶ 0:14:26It's critical that we need to grow our amphibious fleet and hopefully that's not going to be jeopardized in terms of putting that funding in in I also disagree with the decision to procure only one Arleigh Burke destroyer, which is a staple of our fleet. Um, and the battleship, again, which I talked about last week, has gone from a poster board to $1 billion in this year's budget request, 610 million of which is going towards long lead items and outfitting despite not even having a design anywhere close to finished.
▶ 0:14:57And again, seeing a request in that fit up for year two of $17.6 billion for this program, again, that's just an amount of money that really defies I think logic in terms of the fact that we just do not have anything close to design and now with the new nuclear powered proposal out there, again, is really a prerequisite to having any program, let alone this one, really move forward with the kind of money that's been requested.
▶ 0:15:27So, sufficient to say there's a a road ahead of us in terms of determining what the next large surface combatant will be and what will be the plan to ensure that we address looming shortfalls in vertical missile tubes, which again we discussed yesterday at a meeting in my Lastly, I would like the committee to continue working with an ABN on resourcing unmanned capabilities. While these program lines have received significant funding last year, there is minimal funding in this year's request.
▶ 0:15:56This sector is rapidly evolving and last year's NDAA and the Pentagon have done good work to facilitate improved So, again, a long-term and sustainable strategy in this area is required from the Navy and that certainly will be one of the focuses for our subcommittee for FY 27's NDAA. With that, I yield back. I thank you, Mr. Courtney. We now have today we have Mr. Jason Potter performing the duties of Assistant Secretary of the Navy for research, development, and acquisition.
▶ 0:16:25We have Rear Admiral Mark Banning, Acting Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for warfighting requirements and capabilities, and Lieutenant General Eric E. Austin, Deputy Commandant of the Marine Corps for the combat development Uh with that, Mr. Potter, I'm going to recognize you and Admiral and General, y'all can go in whatever order you like. Thank you, Chairman.
▶ 0:16:48Chairman Kelly, Ranking Member Courtney, distinguished members of the subcommittee, good afternoon and thank you for the opportunity to testify on the Department of the Navy's fiscal year 2027 budget I'm honored to be joined by General Austin and Admiral Banning.
▶ 0:17:01We appreciate the subcommittee's steadfast support for our sailors, Marines, civilian workforce, and their families, including the resources and authorities you provide to defend our This past year, our Navy Marine Corps celebrated 250 years of teamwork, which continues to underpin American sea Our founding fathers quickly recognized that protecting our commerce and defending the homeland required a strong Navy and Marine Corps.
▶ 0:17:25At the turn of the 20th century, President Roosevelt's vision to expand American influence centered on deploying the 16 battleships of the Great White Fleet around the world to project peace through strength. In the 21st century, Russia, China, and other nations continue to expand militarily.
▶ 0:17:42And as Acting Secretary Kahl has stated, we are at another strategic inflection point where strong action is needed to shore up American maritime The President's Maritime Golden Age strategy is driving that action with a generational investment that began last year with one big beautiful bill and continues with the fiscal year 2027 Our historic Department of the Navy budget request of includes 34 new ships
▶ 0:18:12varying from small craft to new large combatants to recapitalizing a host of Over the next 5 years, we plan to procure 122 manned and 63 medium unmanned vessels reaching 450 total naval vessels in 2031. The administration's Golden Fleet initiative, the strategic approach to deliver more combat capability to the fleet, consists of three pillars. First, maintain and enhance maritime dominance.
▶ 0:18:40We're expanding the ways the naval service will ensure victory over any adversary with a high-low mix of capabilities through investment in current and new classes of combat ships, recapitalization of auxiliaries, and new capabilities such as unmanned vessels that multiply effects. Second, revitalize the industrial base.
▶ 0:19:00We're revitalizing the defense industrial base across America with tens of billions of dollars in stable, predictable, long-term investments to get more systems fielded bolstering high-skill, high-wage American jobs. By prioritizing the auxiliary ships that get us to and sustain us in a fight far from home, we'll both meet the needs of the fleet and assist in regenerating capacity for commercial shipbuilding. Third, change how we do business.
▶ 0:19:27We're moving from an acquisition system uh that's compliance-based to an outcome-focused warfighting enterprise, restoring accountability, rewarding performance, and embracing advanced technology to deliver capability at speed by enforcing discipline, leveraging distributed production, and enabling stable, repeatable work.
▶ 0:19:48We're deploying innovative contract structures to better balance risk and opportunity, canceling [clears throat] or restructuring programs that were not delivering, too expensive, or too late. Initiating programs that will better meet warfighting and operational requirements, and transforming Navy acquisition through the establishment of 10 portfolio acquisition executives, as required by the fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, to streamline acquisition and more rapidly deliver
▶ 0:20:18capabilities to the fleet. General Austin is one of these 10 PAEs. Beyond ships, we're funding the readiness of our fleet to 95% buying 123 new aircraft, procuring both high-end and low-cost munitions to fill our magazines, accelerating Marine Corps force design investments, and prioritizing research and development to ensure sailors and Marines can defeat any adversary for decades to come. The challenges The challenges ahead are real, but so are the opportunities.
▶ 0:20:48Rebuilding our industrial capacity is a long-term effort that requires a broad, sustained commitment. The Department of the Navy is fully committed to this With your continued support, we will ensure the United States Navy and Marine Corps remain the most capable, ready, and lethal naval force in the world. I look forward to your questions.
▶ 0:21:07Thank Chairman Kelly, Ranking Member Courtney, committee members, thank you for the opportunity to testify today on the US Navy seapower investment priorities for Thank you also for your efforts both on Capitol Hill and in your districts to support our servicemen and women as they protect our great nation. Your oversight and funding ensure they are properly equipped to face the challenges of 21st century warfare.
▶ 0:21:32At this very moment, tens of thousands of service members are forward deployed across multiple oceans and time zones. Their resilience and lethality remain the true measure of our naval power. The imperative for this maritime combat power is no longer theoretical. It is observable and urgent. Across multiple theaters, US naval forces are actively engaged in operations to deter aggression and to ensure free and open maritime domain.
▶ 0:21:57Today's security environment is faster, more lethal, and more contested than anything we have experienced in modern Meeting this challenge requires more than an incremental upgrade. It requires fundamental shift. This shift is the driving force behind the president's 2027 budget. This is a bold reimagining of American seapower. Instead of relying solely on traditional fleet architectures, we're building a highly adaptable, distributed maritime force.
▶ 0:22:23We are teaming premier high-end carriers, surface combatants, and submarines with increasing number of tailorable, unmanned, and rapidly deployable platforms. This high-low approach expands our reach, increases our flexibility, and complicates our adversary's targeting calculus.
▶ 0:22:39It ensures that even in the most heavily contested waters, we can see further, hit harder, and adapt faster than any The president's 2027 budget request reflects the need for both sustaining our fleet while also driving transformative efforts to extend our maritime dominance into the future. It includes critical investments to modernize our aging shipyards, to to the production of munitions, and to reinforce the industrial base that builds, arms, and sustains our fleet.
▶ 0:23:07This committee is a essential partner in preserving American maritime uh supremacy. Your steadfast support is what makes this transition possible and is what will help us build the naval force capable of not only deterring but also, if called upon, to win decisively in any future conflict. Thank you again for your time and uh continued dedication and support to our men and women in uniform. I look forward to your Chairman Kelly, ranking member Courtney, and distinguished members of this subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today.
▶ 0:23:37I'm honored uh to join you alongside Mr. Potter and Rear Admiral Benning. The pacing threat is not standing still, and neither are we. This budget, as submitted, balances crisis response with modernization and enables the Marine Corps to field warfighting capabilities at scale. We are implementing for our Force Design 2030 vision. We are rapidly and responsibly modernizing and fielding capabilities that make our formations lethal and survivable.
▶ 0:23:59As we sit here today, over 43,000 Marines are forward deployed or forward stationed, campaigning, deterring, strengthening alliances, and in many cases, they're fighting, and they're counting on us. No formation combines Navy sea power with the Marine air-ground task force in a more meaningful way than an amphibious ready group paired with a Marine expeditionary unit. When a crisis erupts, combatant commanders need capable and credible and often lethal options that can respond within hours of tasking, operating forward from sovereign US territory afloat.
▶ 0:24:27The ARG/MEU provides deterrence, immediate global response options. It is the Swiss Army knife of the joint force. In the last year alone, ARG/MEUs have combated narco-terrorism in the Caribbean, provided disaster relief in Jamaica, in Guam, and in the Northern Mariana Islands. They've conducted combat operations across multiple geographic combatant commands, and more, campaigning and strengthening our relationship with allies and partners worldwide. Today, as we sit here, we have three ARG/MEUs deployed, but unfortunately, this episodic it is not sustainable.
▶ 0:24:56To best support global demand, the Secretary of War has directed and the acting Secretary of the Navy supports a continuous 3.0 ARG/MEU posture is our North Star. It is a shared goal. There is no daylight between the Navy and the Marine Corps to this end. The President's budget for fiscal year '27 as submitted is a generational investment in the readiness and procurement of amphibious warfare ships and enablers necessary to restore this Beyond physical presence, deterrence and crisis response rely on credible combat power.
▶ 0:25:25To this end, we're adapting and diversifying our fires portfolio with a focus on a high-low mix. On the low end, we're investing in low-cost attack drones and similar capabilities that provide precision, reach, mass, and lethality organic to our infantry battalions. An example of the high end is the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System, Nemesis, which is being fielded today. Marines leverage Nemesis to provide land-based fires that contribute to sea control and sea denial.
▶ 0:25:50This is new and this is This budget balances lethality and survivability. It makes necessary investments in our layered ground-based air defense and counter-UAS capabilities, more than doubling last year's investments in this essential Littoral surface mobility is a gap for today's force. The medium landing ship will provide Marines with organic surface mobility and maneuver essential for campaigning in the Indo-Pacific and applicable worldwide when operating in littorals. It is late to need.
▶ 0:26:20We learned a hard lesson in execution of our initial acquisition strategy and rapidly reworked it, which was resolved in the selection of a mature non-developmental design. We're leveraging a vessel construction manager, multiple shipyards, and have the resources to begin procurement of LSM. We will bend metal on our first article this fiscal year. We are grateful for the support of the President, Congress, our Navy partners, which all of which underpinned our ability to rapidly pivot to this innovative acquisition strategy. Speaking of acquisition, we must go faster.
▶ 0:26:46We support and are fully engaged in the department-wide acquisition reform centered around the transition to the new portfolio acquisition executive This construct provides the tools necessary to increase velocity, deliver integrated and lethal capabilities to the hands of our Marines on an operationally relevant timeline. It is essential and notable that in this your Marine Corps remains committed to responsibly invest and fully account for every dollar we are provided. We recently earned our third clean audit opinion.
▶ 0:27:15We'll continue to account for the resources Congress and our nation provide. We're proud of this fact. And ladies and gentlemen, the FY 27 budget as requested balances readiness with modernization and allows the Marine Corps to procure and field key capabilities at scale and enables us to remain first to fight our nation's expeditionary force in readiness. We're grateful for your continued support and I look forward to your questions. I thank the witnesses. I now recognize myself for 5 minutes in questions. Mr.
▶ 0:27:40Potter, strengthening and stabilizing the demand signal we are sending to the defense industrial base has been a particular focus of this subcommittee and the full committee in recent years. But the department also has a role to play in writing the wrongs of the past when it comes to acquisitions. Mr. Potter, Potter, can you shed some light on the efforts y'all are making on your end to steady the demand curve? Mr.
▶ 0:28:05Chairman, thank you very much and we agree that steady demand and providing the shipyards with as much kind of work as they can produce is a a key to how we grow the fleet. And so we're focused on you know, multi-year procurements are one of the best practices that we've got for providing steady demand and ensuring through the budget cycles we stay committed to that.
▶ 0:28:30As you know, we've got multi-ship procurements or multi-year procurements on amphibious ships, on submarines, on destroyers, aircraft carriers are under a block buy currently. And oilers are under a block buy. So a number across all classes of ships once we have a stable design Uh, we like to move into some kind of multi-ship procurement arrangement.
▶ 0:28:50Um, beyond that, this budget uh, provides uh, two additional um, uh, amphibious ships to really spool up the amphibious uh, shipbuilding production line and grow it. Uh, that gives it even uh, greater demand and uh, an incentive to reduce the intervals in those builds. So, I think this this budget, sir, with the 18 um, battle force ships, 16 non-battle force ships, 34 ships total, uh, we're going to send a strong demand signal to industry.
▶ 0:29:19There's there's we think about 18 competitive um, procurements in the the fit-up uh, verse, you know, less than five in normal years because of how much new um, activity and shipbuilding programs we're able to bring in the budget this year. So, that is also additional demand opportunity um, for our shipbuilding industrial base and for us to work with them on how that fits uh, into their And I really want to thank y'all for the 30-year shipbuilding plan.
▶ 0:29:47Uh, it's a start, and we just need to continue to refine and improve, but that's a big deal for sending a demand signal. So, I thank you for that. Uh, General Holston and Admiral Banning, recent events have also been a reminder of the value and versatility of the 3.0 ARG/MEU. President says it's the tip of the spear as we project peace and strength throughout the globe. To that end, we're working on faster amphib production and procurement, but we also need to stop procrastinating on maintaining the old we do have.
▶ 0:30:14General Holston, what kind of hurdles is that causing for the Marines? And Admiral Banning, what is the Navy doing to get amphibs turned around quicker from maintenance? Chairman, thank you for the question. Uh, it's obviously important to the Marine Corps, and uh, I mentioned in my opening comments, as did you, the 3.0 ARG/MEU contract, which we think is necessary to provide the the maximum coverage that we can for our nation uh, in terms of campaigning and responding to crisis.
▶ 0:30:39Right now, uh, the readiness of our amphibious warfare ships does not support a 3.0 ARG/MEU, which impacts both training and preparation and certainly our coverage worldwide. As I stated today, we have three uh ARG/MEUs forward deployed, and they're doing glorious work. One will return soon. We'll We'll have two, and then we'll start to experience more gaps. So, the the biggest thing I would say is the the gaps in coverage and the lack of support to our combatant commanders as articulated uh direct from them to to the uh to the chairman.
▶ 0:31:08Uh I will tell you that uh at the present time, uh I said it in my statement, there is no daylight between the Navy and Marine Corps. We're in a good place. And one of the the key bodies that I'll I'll hand it off to uh Admiral Benning in a second here, sir, is the the Amphibious Forces Readiness Board, which is co-chaired by the Vice CNO and the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps, which highlights the uh senior leader interest uh and the the the collaboration and the so I I will stop my comments there and ask uh Mark to cover down on that, sir. Chairman, sir, thank you for the question.
▶ 0:31:39Uh as indicated, fully agree with with General Austin, no daylight between us. And as you highlighted, you know, readiness is not where it needs to be. We're not satisfied with that, and we're working hard to get after that. Couple things that we're doing, there are five lines of effort in the uh Amphibious Force Readiness Board. Uh so, there's one certainly looking at how do we better generate the force and and maintain it readiness in between its major maintenance availability.
▶ 0:32:02So, that's the OFRP model and uh and There's another line of effort that how do we make sure that the equipment that we have, the platforms we have, we can extend those to to give us the force structure we need, and we can modernize them so they remain combat capable uh in the future. And then the last part was certainly the the focus on uh new With regards to maintenance in particular, there's a couple things that we're doing uh to in order to get after this, changing how we think, act, operate differently.
▶ 0:32:30So, there's a signature avail, so we have moved the timeline for the planning from 3 months prior to the avail to a year in advance, and we're locking those down so that we know what work is going to be done. We get the parts in advance. We're looking at adding additional port engineers, so two port engineers per availability to help manage the workflow and setting conditions and and sure we get through the work on time and on sequence.
▶ 0:32:53We're taking some of the more challenging maintenance items such as diesel maintenance and and pulling those out of those avails and doing that at a different time and focused on that so you come in and more like a pit stop and you just focus on the diesel engine, you get it done on time and then you you move out. Uh in addition we
▶ 0:33:10I'm going to take the rest for the record cuz my time's expired and I try to be generous with these not not too generous with these guys. So, thank you Admiral. Now recognize Mr. Courtney. Thank you uh Mr. Chairman. So, Mr. Potter, as I mentioned earlier, again, there's um some concern about some ambiguity that was in the um uh spending bill that you know, some feel maybe um conflicts or raises a question regarding the authorization of the block six contract, which again, for the record, happened
▶ 0:33:40about 28 months ago uh in terms of the NDA that was passed back then. We're we're really this is probably one of the longest gaps between authorization and execution of a block contract for the Virginia program. So, again, can you just sort of describe what your sort of view is in terms of trying to get this issue resolved and move forward with execution of the
▶ 0:34:03Yes, sir. Um so, we are uh aware of the issue and this is uh section at 8010 in the year-long continuing resolution for And I think uh it's it was written differently than either of the committee marks that came out of the two appropriations uh defense subcommittees.
▶ 0:34:22And we're working very closely uh within the Department of War and with uh the Office of Management and Budget and with the the committees we're committed to sort of working through uh to find the appropriate uh uh remedy here cuz we believe uh the intent is to move forward with these contracts and it was not um intended uh the to hold it up. So, we just need uh a little more time, sir, and we commit to get back to you with the outcome there.
▶ 0:34:48I I appreciate that. And again, there's no question that um in FY24 appropriation bill and NDAA, both um you know, were explicitly clear about the fact that you know, those contracts were were authorized and and valid in terms in in part of the intent of Congress. So, appreciate your efforts that that's there. So, um you know, as I mentioned before, I've been around long enough to sort of see some other programs with, you know, high hopes sort of not really materialize.
▶ 0:35:18Um the cruiser replacement uh program, the CGX um program, you know, Zumwalt um again, there was big plans to build a a large fleet of those ships that it was truncated after three uh ships uh were built. Um obviously, the littoral combat ship was always kind of a moving target and I think um again, the size of that fleet also was truncated.
▶ 0:35:40So, this new uh battleship proposal which um came forward and I'll set aside for a moment any of the questions about its, you know, strategic um tactical value, but um in terms of industrial base um issues, um you know, it was a poster board in December. We We've now got a budget document in front of us. There really is no design plans that have materialized yet at this point. Yet, it's talking about going into production in FY um 28.
▶ 0:36:08you know, um I I just think the most optimistic hopes in terms of moving at that pace, given the size of this platform, the fact that it's now going to be a nuclear-powered uh vessel, um and we only have two nuclear-certified yards, one that does not is not big enough to accommodate that large of a vessel up in Groton uh and the other is pretty chock-a-block in terms of um you know, carrier construction that's going on there.
▶ 0:36:37So, I I want to just sort of raise those issues. If you wanted to comment, um you know, we we there's a lot of discussions that are going to go into this issue, I know, in the coming Now, Congressman, I appreciate the opportunity to comment and we'll continue um to work with you and your staff to provide more information on this. And really, we are mindful of the CGX, LCS, DDG 1000, uh you know, and some of the best practices lessons learned from those programs.
▶ 0:37:04And where we began on this was we knew we needed a larger large surface combatant as Admiral Benning can kind of walk through the requirements, but to get to this point, uh the DDG Flight III is really full at to the point we had to you know, widen the stern by about 6 ft to fit the generators in as we added the more powerful radar. So, we know we need a larger large surface combatant to face the threat in the 2030s and beyond.
▶ 0:37:29And we've used a design team that we've had together since about 2023 uh on DDGX to move uh to the battleship, which is just a larger uh than we originally intended for DDGX, but it has mature systems. So, the plan on the battleship is to use the proven Spy-6 radar, Aegis Baseline 10, proven ASW suite, um the Mark 41 vertical launcher. We're going to bring a low-risk uh larger volume missile um launcher as well.
▶ 0:37:57And then we'll have reservations for so, space, weight, power set aside for lasers and railgun and things we will acknowledge are not ready to be part of the design today. And so, that was always part of the plan with DDGX, as well. So, we're going to pull through proven systems, the A1B uh propulsion plant on the carrier is the propulsion plant.
▶ 0:38:17So, we view this as things that have been designed in in other ships that we need to work through the arrangements and how um on the battleship we're going to be able to design. But with the digital tools and design uh techniques we have, that's kind of how we feel like we can move forward on this timeline. We're in what we call indicative design now that comes before contract design and we can walk you through kind of how our design build strategy is uh going forward. Lots of questions.
▶ 0:38:47I'll yield back. Gentlemen's time expired like mine's and now I recognize Mr. Wittman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'd like to thank our witnesses for joining us today. Mr. Potter, I'd like to start with you and I'm going to follow up on some of the questions that Mr. Courtney had posed. Uh talking about the 30-year shipbuilding plan, I listened to some good components of it, also some questions about building the platforms that we need and making sure that we can get to executing those construction projects as quickly as possible.
▶ 0:39:14One of the questions obviously is with the battleship component, we were originally told it was going to be conventionally powered and now we're being told it's going to be nuclear powered and we know that on submarines we need to get to a cadence of 2.3 Virginia class per year and one Columbia class per year. We have an overwhelming advantage against the Chinese in the undersea world.
▶ 0:39:36Uh we need to press the gas pedal so we can continue to maintain that cuz if you look at the pace at which 6 688s are coming out of the inventory and the pace at which Ohio class are coming out of the inventory, that should be where the gas pedal is pressed. When we talk about the battleship and we now we talk about being nuclear powered, what we see is there is now a confluence of demand for nuclear reactors.
▶ 0:40:00And the question then becomes in meeting the demand signal that we should be meeting for Virginia class, for Ohio class and now adding another demand signal there with in addition to the Ford class reactors being built and now we're being told that the Ford class reactor is going to be used in the in the battleship, the question would be with a challenging industrial capacity and only one supplier nuclear reactors, uh where are we in looking at being able to meet that demand signal and being able to meet
▶ 0:40:30it at the speed of relevance in relation to all the other demands that are coming with that and knowing that we don't have a big surplus of reactors standing by in in order to be able to meet this. So, give give me your perspective there. And also, you know, as we look at the design of that ship, obviously there will be other conventionally powered systems on the ship, diesel generators and and those sorts of proponents that are providing other power source generation there.
▶ 0:40:58Uh I'd be interested to get your perspective on how do we integrate all those now different sources of power and try to provide the different fueling for with a ship that has at least the propulsion system being nuclear powered and then the demand signal that comes from that. Congressman, yeah, thank you for the question. On Newport News and their workload, I'll start with that one.
▶ 0:41:23Um we view dry dock 12 and we've been in you know, preliminary discussions here on the the build approach where it can be partitioned and there is a path here where we need to work on the phasing with CVN 81 and 82 and the battleship. But there we view there is capacity with the way in which that dry dock can be configured. Uh and so we also agree Newport News is the final assembly yard you know, for the battleship and that would be our intention.
▶ 0:41:53Part of how we get there is the distributed ship building and in the build strategy of these different modules that we are building for the either flight three destroyers or on the carrier today and how we can build those um most efficiently to bring together for final assembly at Newport News.
▶ 0:42:11And then with BWXT, uh which is a fantastic uh company and a company that we uh absolutely rely on for nuclear we've looked at uh going to three Virginia-class submarines a year in the past and how we uh increase nuclear reactor production in Lynchburg and elsewhere. I mean, that's something we're ac- absolutely looking at uh as part of the battleship plan.
▶ 0:42:34This has to be an expansion of the industrial base um and not come at the expense of And so, we commit to you to again continue to give you um more refined I was going to I think it's going to be important because this is threading the needle on this when you look at the sweet spot for carrier production, it's right in that 5-to-6-year centers.
▶ 0:42:54And we know too that that is also based upon being able to produce those reactors, uh available space there to go ahead and build, workforce, all those things create a tremendous amount of pressure to make sure we stay on schedule there. And we know too when we buy uh carriers two at a time, we know we have some economies of scale and some savings there. But I I did want to ask to make sure that you look very carefully that because that is a tremendously difficult spot that we're putting ourselves in and trying to do all at at the same time.
▶ 0:43:23Let me ask uh two is the Navy coordinating with interagency partners, particularly the uh the Department of Commerce, and how we're trying to coordinate to make sure shipbuilding efforts there are coordinated to make sure we get the best out of the industrial base cuz the biggest challenge for us in years to come is going to be industrial base capacity and workforce. And things that exacerbate that are going to affect what we can do to put these ships in the water. And Mr. Chairman, with with that in mind, listen, Mr. Potter, I I want to be respectful of everybody else's time.
▶ 0:43:50If you will give me that answer for the record, I will yield back. Thank you, Mr. Wittman. Now recognize Mr. Norcross. Thank you, Chairman and witnesses for being here today. Well, yes, I'm going to talk about the industrial base and and the workforce we all have been focused on this for years and it's certainly something that is of great concern especially with that 30-year plan coming out that we are going to accelerate what we already were planning for and put it on steroids.
▶ 0:44:21The plan certainly calls for that. So, as part of the the recent March 4th GAO report talked about military readiness uh to take further action addressing the challenges across sea, air, ground, space domains. In the report talks about the constraints of our shipyards, everything we've talked about. Result in the idle times for submarines and dry docks.
▶ 0:44:50cascading readiness issues that continue to happen. in what's your office plan um to integrate these findings with the recommendations from GAO to the shipyard infrastructure optimization plan and then put on top of it what we just spoke about increasing the tempo almost by 75%.
▶ 0:45:15How the hell you're going to do this without increasing the shipyards? Uh I'll start Congressman and uh again the focus on this. This is a priority here is really expanding in a generational sense our shipbuilding in the country and these investments where we're up 40% over the 26 budget, nearly 100% over the 25 budget in terms of the amount of funding being requested for shipbuilding.
▶ 0:45:46So, there's there's no single answer. I think we're try we're trying to raise wages at all of our shipyards including the public shipyards and we're as um ranking member Courtney said, we're seeing results uh in the submarine yards already and investing in these shipyards themselves and their infrastructure and working with the companies to do that. Um and that includes technology and and computer-aided design, computer-aided manufacturing, and and those sorts of things.
▶ 0:46:13Distributing the shipbuilding and uh around the country so we have focused factories that are producing the equivalent of half of Virginia class submarine today. It's And so So that we're we're we're pulling all the levers and I think on the the public shipyards and the SIOP each of those four shipyards has a master plan now that tells us kind of what we need to execute every single year to accomplish the drydock uh recapitalization and the other projects in each of those yards and we're committed to funding that.
▶ 0:46:43So I we're we're really trying to have a detailed um focused approach on where the root causes are uh and with the goal here of really expanding and revitalizing uh the whole industry. So we saw what happened in the beginning of Second World War. We had an incredibly low-producing shipbuilding capacity here in the US.
▶ 0:47:07We got hit in Pearl Harbor and within 2 years we're pumping out a ship every week to every day. To reinvest here in America when we had Secretary Young last week, I talked about the ideas you are sending the demand signals that everybody talks about. And then in the 30-year shipbuilding plan, you open the door for sending or some of our shipbuilding capacity overseas.
▶ 0:47:34Yes, taking what we did last time, which was our mistake, is offshoring our ability to build and you've opened the door. Are your plans now because to complete the plan that you've laid out for us you need to significantly increase in the United States shipbuilding capacity. Yet it talks about increasing the capacity of shipyards on the other side of the ocean.
▶ 0:48:01Can you address whether you're going to outsource significant portion of the shipbuilding overseas? Congressman, the answer to that is no. What we view this as is the shipyards that we have here are largely full. And in most of our shipbuilding programs in the budget, you'll see there's delays compared to last year.
▶ 0:48:21We're still seeing schedule delays, and we're seeing with the seven or eight large shipyards we have that build ships for the Navy uh kind of keeping up with the orders that we've placed. So, the overseas uh component that's talked about in the shipbuilding plan is similar to the icebreaker collaboration effort, which would be a near a short-term means to an end of orders overseas with the requirement that the investment be made here to build and expand our shipbuilding
▶ 0:48:51industrial base here. And so, that the same approach essentially that was used with Ice Pack is how we're trying to grow the industrial base here. And it wouldn't take away from any of our current
▶ 0:49:02Well, Ice Pack is under a different set of rules for shipbuilding overseas. In the Navy, we don't do that. We actually invested here in America during World War II, and that's the way to get us back without a yield. I yield some of my time. I thank the gentleman. I now recognize Dr. DesJarlais. Thank you, Chairman.
▶ 0:49:20Admiral Benning, can you expand on the golden fleet initiative and when you look to combine these high-low mix platforms, what tradeoffs do you consider acceptable and what metrics or scales are you using to evaluate or mitigate those risks? Uh from the high-low mix perspective, we've obviously discussed the battleship here. That's certainly on the high end. The current DDG, kind of the workhorse of the fleet, is also in the high end.
▶ 0:49:45What we're looking at also though is is on the low end, you're talking both the frigate which brings some organic capability, and it's also uh uh C2 node and unmanned res capability or robotic autonomous system capability. So, with an uncoupled with the unmanned capability and what we're investing in and and prioritizing is containerized When you put those onto a medium USV, they give you the opportunity to tailor your force package for the mission that you've been tasked to go do or for the threat environment that is there.
▶ 0:50:16You also are able to supplement the organic capability of a lower end frigate with with additional unmanned capability. By doing that, the frigate and the unmanned capability helps relieve some of the stress on the on the current workforce being the DDG and allows it to focus on the high end fight and stay for readiness. So, that's kind of the approach we're taking there. Okay. Mr. Potter, the development production of both the exquisite lower cost scalable platforms will require robust industrial base, as you know.
▶ 0:50:44What pinch points are you anticipating through the production and development of the Golden Fleet there'll be probably different pinch points than we're used to because what we're seeing is new entrants with many of these types of platforms that are new to the Navy, particularly the unmanned vessel providers. And so, we think there is a lot of a capability there.
▶ 0:51:10We had a phenomenal response to our first solicitation for a medium unmanned surface vessels. And so, that is a you know, a key outlet for some of the supply chain issues we're seeing is tapping into a new one.
▶ 0:51:23I think we do have some of the traditional challenges within ship building where we're using the maritime industrial base and other industrial base tools to focus on suppliers and we've got better visibility than we've ever had before down the supply chain it where we're having bottlenecks and choke points and we've got resources available to address those. Okay. Moving to submarine tenders, Mr.
▶ 0:51:48Potter, as we consider the Navy's needs, the increased force posture and operation around the globe, it becomes clear how important the next generation submarine tender program is to sustain force readiness and maintenance capacity. When do you expect those ships to be Uh Congressman, I think those are probably going to be online in the early 2030s, realistically. So, you're not expecting that there will be any delays on those ships being delivered.
▶ 0:52:17And if so, do you believe that there can be appropriate service life extensions made to the Emory S. Land class tenders? Yeah, we're continually assessing uh service life extensions for all of our ships. And uh Emory S. Land and that the tenders are no exception. We're really focused on finishing the design right now with General Dynamics and getting the first ship uh under construction. And uh we've had a a good process here to work through the requirements.
▶ 0:52:46Uh it's the first time we've built a sub tender in a while and kind of making sure it's going to have the maintenance capability to maintain our latest Virginia class submarines and the quantities uh you know, took took a you know, measure twice, cut once approach over the last few years. So, I think we're there. We need to finish the design and get into construction. Sounds good. Thank you all for being here. Chairman, I yield back. Now recognize Mr. Bergman. Thank you, Chairman, and thank you to the witnesses for appearing today.
▶ 0:53:14So, I have the privilege of representing uh a three different military installations. Um Quantico, the crossroads of the Marine Corps. Dahlgren, uh which is a a gem of a Navy R&D base. And so, let me start with with Dahlgren. There's a tremendous amount of R&D that's taking place there. And there are some some systems that are being developed, including high-energy lasers that were for a little while there were mothballed, but now are being brought back um to help in the the fight in the Middle East.
▶ 0:53:43Uh they're akin to some of the systems that that Israelis are deploying like Iron uh Beam. And so I just want to encourage you to continue to support those systems, the tremendous work that's being done at Dahlgren and to field the sort of next generation uh technology that is coming out of that Uh General Austin, great to see you here whether it's on the hill or or at Quantico. Um so Ukraine has been developing uh something of a live laboratory for unmanned systems in contested environments.
▶ 0:54:13Is the Marine Corps finding ways to learn from what um the Ukrainians have developed and field tested there? And uh what are we doing to capture those Congress- Congressman, it's good to see you as well, sir. And thank you for the the question.
▶ 0:54:27We absolutely are closely following all the activities going on in many theaters to include the the Ukraine and capturing those via deliberate uh process through our Marine Corps Center for Lessons Learned, but more importantly turning that into our own experimentation and our own lessons learned uh with both uh our drone dominance task force which nests within the Department of War drone dominance task force uh which you've witnessed yourself and down looking at some of our attack drone capabilities and the like which has got both a fielding and in you know dot mil PF lessons that we're learning and the tactics, techniques, and procedures that we're employing.
▶ 0:54:58And I'll pivot the other thing that we're learning a lot about right now and we've got a lot of uh investments in is uh counter drone technologies both uh in terms of material solutions and the tactics, techniques, and procedures that we need to to for all of our Marines and sailors to survive in today's battlefield. There's a lot to learn and we're getting after it, sir.
▶ 0:55:16I appreciate that and it's great to hear that uh the Marine Corps is learning uh from uh the the environment in Ukraine and that we're not just starting at uh FPV drones sort of like level one basics but advancing rapidly to where the Ukrainians are now and having fielded in depth and and um so the Marine Corps initiated uh Summit's accelerate drone lethality, which is a great program.
▶ 0:55:43Are there opportunities to deepen that work by partnering directly with Ukrainian forces who are operating drones at scale every day against near-peer adversaries? Sir, the short answer to that is uh is absolutely. When we have the opportunities, I will tell you that one of the things that is a big success for the Marine Corps in the last 12 months, we have fielded thousands of drones uh attack drones that we've gotten to all of our infantry battalions, our training uh establishment, and our installations, uh which has enabled us to learn a tremendous amount and not just about how to operate a drone, but about spectrum, about
▶ 0:56:13uh survivability, about different uh capabilities that they used to guide them, things that you're well aware of, and we're getting after it, but we're eager to continue to learn that capacity. Hopefully, that that helps, sir. Okay. And when we talk about uh co-production, technology sharing with allied defense industries, is Ukraine one of those um allies that we should be looking at more closely both to help them and to bring manufacturing capacity and know-how back to the United States?
▶ 0:56:41You know, open that up to Congressman, I I think the answer is yes. We're always looking uh you know, at all our allies and partners for the best technology and the best capability give our sailors and Marines the the edge. And uh there are active uh discussions along those lines. So, how can we help you with any of these efforts? With authorities or there's always a need for funding, but any anything we can do to help you with those efforts.
▶ 0:57:09Uh um sirs, I'd say you let us get back to you on that. I think we have a lot of the authority we need. I've not run into an issue yet um where we haven't been able to move forward if we felt like we had the you know, the the readiness to do so. So, I think at this point we're we're in good shape. Yep, look forward to hearing that uh from you.
▶ 0:57:29Um so, outside of funding procurement, what's the most impactful change that Congress and this committee could do to help the Marine Corps accelerate the adoption of unmanned systems? Sir, I would just continue to support our acquisition reform and the opportunities for us to move fast. The the accelerant and the enthusiasm that's coming from the White House, from the Capitol, from the Department of War is all palpable. It's an exciting time to be in the acquisition field and we're moving out. So, we just would ask for your continued support in that.
▶ 0:57:59We're going to learn There'll be bumps and bruises and we're going to continue to learn, but we have a mandate to go fast. And the permission structure to to fail fast and if you fail, that we could underwrite that risk. So, thank you. With that, I yield back. Good time and now recognize Dr. Jackson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, gentlemen, for being here today. I appreciate your time. Um as global threats continue to evolve, our naval and expeditionary forces remain central to the nation's ability to deter aggression and project combat power around the world.
▶ 0:58:28Uh today, the Navy Marine Corps being asked to sustain a persistent forward presence across multiple theaters while simultaneously modernizing for future conflict against increasingly capable As a retired Navy veteran, I understand the vital importance of maintaining a force that is not only technologically advanced, but also fully sustained and ready to respond to the emerging requirements of the future fight.
▶ 0:58:49In recent years, we have seen a significant rise in suspected sabotage of subsea cables and pipelines in the Baltic Sea and now the Straits of Hormuz, raising concerns about attacks on critical Unmanned surface vessels offering persistent ISR and detection capabilities are emerging as a key tool for safeguarding undersea cables and other critical subsea infrastructure from sabotage and hybrid threats from foreign adversaries like China, Russia in particular, and Iran.
▶ 0:59:16To counter these growing maritime threats and address critical vulnerabilities in our defense industrial base, I believe the US must rapidly scale domestic production of unmanned surface Uh Mr. Potter, what is your assessment of our domestic capacity to scale USV production? Furthermore, how is the department establishing a robust network of qualified US-based suppliers to meet this need, and how can Congress best support this effort?
▶ 0:59:42And part of the reason I ask this question is because oftentimes when we talk about one of the issues is that that we cannot that we may have to do stuff elsewhere besides the United States because the size of our shipyards and the capacity to to manufacture large ships, but it's also been pointed out to me that we we have a capacity that's that's existing potentially to to build some of these unmanned vessels here. So, with that in with that in mind, can you answer my question? Yes, sir, Congressman.
▶ 1:00:10So, if for the first time, I think in, you know, the first time we've got the four tools we need to really move fast on unmanned service vessels. That's the funding, thanks to one big beautiful bill, we have more than $2 billion. We have the acquisition tools, like other transaction authority that this committee has given us. We have the performers that are ready to do it, and we have the requirements from the operational field that we need to get So, with the medium unmanned surface vessel, that's really the first move that we've made to do things differently.
▶ 1:00:41We released a solicitation based on a Chief of Naval Operations urgent requirement to to field 30 of these medium unmanned surface vessels with a containerized payload. And we've gotten an overwhelming response. So, I we know the industry is there. This is a competitive market, and we had, you know, more than two dozen offers, which is unheard of in Navy shipbuilding.
▶ 1:01:04And so, from that, we're now in source selection, and we're working through, you know, which is a good problem to have, you know, the best and most capable to meet the CNO's requirements. That's the model we're going to use over and over again to solve more and more of these problems. Undersea cables, offensive missions, you know, contested logistics. We think unmanned it's there's a a huge opportunity here. We have a whole another industrial base we're able to tap into to get after it. And um we have a model to do it.
▶ 1:01:30And on the the cables, we've got uh you know, established programs and particularly for mine uh countermeasures that are looking for uh buried mines, bottom mines, things on the seafloor with synthetic aperture sonars that are on our Mark 18 um UUVs. So, between unmanned underwater vehicles, unmanned surface vessels, uh the Navy's been in this game a while and even at a classified level we can give you kind of a full picture of that.
▶ 1:01:56But you agree this is an area where unlike the larger vessels, we have the capacity to do almost all of that here and do it at scale if we just uh invest. Yes, sir. Okay, thank you. With that I'll go back, Mr. Chair. Now I recognize myself for Thank you, Mr. Chair. Gentlemen, thank you for being here. Um Mr. Potter, I think you're going to find everybody on this subcommittee is is all in for supercharging the industrial base to meet our shipbuilding and maintenance needs. I would love to invite you to to my district.
▶ 1:02:21Uh I represent neither any any of your your uh installations, but Coast Guard you're Baltimore, which uh 130 year history of doing all all of the things I think we need done here. I mention that because in last year's NDAA we were we were able to to uh set up the the hopeful transfer of about 435 acres just across the creek from that yard, former Army Depot, um to our state's economic development corporation with this very kind of adventure in mind.
▶ 1:02:51So, I would love to invite you out to see that eventually and see how that can possibly fit into all of this. I think it meets all of the needs we have here, industrial zone, you know, right on the water, uh future dredging project right there. So, I just want to I want to put that on your radar and invite you to have that I do want to move to follow up on Mr. Norcross's questioning and and he has a an excellent point here.
▶ 1:03:14You guys are asking us to trust you that in order to kickstart this, you know, revamped effort, we don't have the capacity at the moment. We're going to look to our allies and partners who frankly have spent the last century kicking our butts at this. But you're asking us to trust you that we're going to reshore those projects eventually. So, I I I asked this question of of SECNAV last week, but I I would love your thoughts on that. How you know, our our job is to trust but verify.
▶ 1:03:42So, how would you advise us to holding your feet to the fire that those jobs are going to come back, and we're not going to sit here two or three years from now and hear how we still don't have the capacity. We're going to need to build more ships abroad. How would you advise us? Congresswoman, thank you, and I have actually spent 4 years in your district, and they were four of the best years of my life at the Naval Academy. And we will absolutely visit Baltimore, and I look forward to that. Thank you for the invitation.
▶ 1:04:09On the um Okay, on the foreign ship building, I think it is fair, you know, how do you trust but verify, and I think we would welcome, you know, that discussion about the the requirements that would come with that authority to build, you know, initially overseas while we're building the capacity here to do it here. We see that as a two-part process. We want those two parts to be linked. We're not trying to just take jobs and take them overseas.
▶ 1:04:37We do expect you know, whatever is done there, a two, three, four X, you know, investment here. Uh and I think you know, well, as as you know, we have a little bit more time here to work our proposal and get it to you in full. Uh we welcome that conversation. Mr. Chair, I would just suggest that perhaps we should think a little bit about how to actually trust but verify as we go into markup.
▶ 1:05:01Um I I also want to highlight if you if you watched the SECNAV hearing last week, you heard bipartisan overwhelming support of to the 3.0 ARGMEU presence and that was really reassuring. I hope I hope General that was reassuring to you. I do want to though kind of dig into the details of of getting there in the budget. Um so General Austin you in your opening statement you discussed the importance of the amphib fleet and how you are committed to the 3.0 marker.
▶ 1:05:32but you also mentioned that how important the LSMs are to the amphib strategy, but I'm concerned that LSM funding is in the mandatory portion of the request. Can you explain how LSMs kind of fit into the larger amphib strategy here? I think the devil's in the details of the budget and I just want to make sure we're all aligned. Yes Congresswoman, thank you. I honestly appreciate this question and the chance to talk about LSM.
▶ 1:05:55And first I will tell you that uh LSM is an opportunity for the Navy, the Marine Corps, and for the shipbuilding industry, and for our nation right now because we have the money we're uh in the final phases of contracting the vessel construction manager and we're ready to move out and I think this is going to be a great warm start for many of the conversations that we're having uh right now.
▶ 1:06:12LSM plays an essential role uh in the littoral uh for us first in the Indo-Pacific because it goes shore to shore, enables us to have the mobility and maneuver and move forces, small signature, light footprint uh in ways and complement the the uh Marine Air Wing which can move some stuff but not everything. It's it's tremendously important and again I said it's late to need. We have got some opportunities to leverage some uh resources that was provided last year to uh have what we call the littoral maneuver bridging strategy uh contract solutions.
▶ 1:06:43We're also using TEPFs in some cases starting this fall to to to bridge, but those are peer-to-peer not uh beach-to-beach and it's a different capability. So it's tremendously important to us. And I would just say that uh yeah I do understand that the LSM in '27 is in the uh mandatory bill. Uh we consider it from the Marine Corps perspective one bill and we need the whole thing to be successful. Uh we are pleased uh to have it uh in the the budget as submitted now. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Now recognize Mr. Molan.
▶ 1:07:15Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thanks to the Uh Admiral Assistant Secretary General, thank thank you very much. You're all very important of course to the most forward deployed place there is. So, I I thank you for your interest in keeping this going for the island of Guam. Uh General, thanks for your assistance on uh during disaster relief uh for Guam. If If you don't mind, just say a little bit about what what went on. Thank you, sir.
▶ 1:07:40Just as the 11th MEU was deploying and they were left to deploy early based on the conditions in uh CENTCOM, uh the typhoon rolled through and both uh Guam and Northern Marianas had damage and we were honored to be able to support the disaster relief with uh just moving the critical supplies around both locations. Something we've done before and we'll do again and it just highlights the importance and uh again the uh multi-purpose applicability of the Marine Expeditionary Unit and the amphibious ready groups. So, I hope that that helps. Absolutely.
▶ 1:08:11God bless the Uh in addition, let's talk about uh Camp Blaz at this time. How do you How do you see it coming along and and with our uh the personnel relocating to uh from Okinawa to Guam? So, first thing I will tell you is Camp Blaz is a purpose-built beautiful facility. Uh they're uh on Guam. We're we're proud of it. Uh but uh I I'm We'll take it for the record if I may because it is not my point of my my expertise in how we are taking a look at our Pacific posture right now.
▶ 1:08:41So, I'd like to get back to you with that answer, sir. Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you, General. let's see. Oh, submarine submarine maintenance. Yeah. We enjoy the uh our our subs there and of course they enjoy the deep seas of of the island as well. Oh, um tell us how it's going, Admiral, with um our home port of the fast tracks over there and in our maintenance situation and use utilizing of the tenders and what this budget will invest to help the maintenance capacities.
▶ 1:09:13Yes, so Guam certainly plays a critical role in in in our defenses and certainly from a submarine force perspective the forward deployed squadron 15 forward deployed submarines out of there. Their presence there, their ability to as you as you said ability immediately dive when you get outside the point there it is just great place to submarine from.
▶ 1:09:32The tenders are critical role play critical role there not only in in servicing submarines and surface ships in and around Guam but also throughout the entire AOR so a vital role that expeditionary nature to revive, rearm and resupply as needed. And the investments continue for Polaris Point efforts to ensure that is in a condition and supports the needs of the Navy both today and in the future. But thank you Admiral. Mr.
▶ 1:10:02Potter, speaking of about resupply for our forward area of Guam there are munitions How how are we doing with that with the Will we have a adequate adequate space to replenishment uh at sea and forward staging capacity for the island of Guam in regards to munitions?
▶ 1:10:24Congressman, we are laser focused on refilling our magazines wherever they are with munitions and I think you know Guam is obviously part of that. And so um I mean you're going to see in this budget obviously we've got um over 100% increase over the FY26 budget for munitions and it's really all types plus new low cost and other munitions to some of our longer term programs.
▶ 1:10:52So we're you know with that making sure munitions activities and our ammo locations are are up inadequate for that and we're committed to do that in phase to make sure we're able to prepare for Thank you. And also regarding our fast tracks over there. We're always requesting or we did have a great ship repair facility at one time.
▶ 1:11:17And there was an incident back way back not too long ago but where the submarine was being repaired on on Guam was tremendous damage right on the nose I believe but we were able to get it done. Do you foresee we utilizing a ship bringing back the ship repair facility and also a dry dock? Mr. Potter.
▶ 1:11:40Congressman I will I'll get back to you with a full answer but I I think at this point you know we're always assessing our maintenance repair laydown and our dry docks and where additional investments may be needed. And at this point I'm not aware of a increases in Guam along those lines but I will follow up. Appreciate it. Thank you to the panel. Thank you very much. Thank you Mr. Now recognize Mr. Higgins. Thank you Mr. Chairman Mr. Potter.
▶ 1:12:10Admiral General thank you for being Mr. Potter I believe I have you quoted accurately in one of your responses to a colleague. And addressing challenges in ship building and the You said the seven or eight large shipyards are struggling to keep up with I think that's a quote. You said you continue to see delays. I believe that's a quote.
▶ 1:12:41And you said your intention our intention as a nation and your intention representing the executive is to grow the industrial base here that pretty accurate assessment of Yes. your position. Okay.
▶ 1:13:02my question is regarding acquisition cuz our smaller shipyards have performed beautifully for you know, a century for our country. And they recent in modern history in the last couple of decades, they've they've been struggling to make it because mhm and because the federal government has not managed to deliver like a stable environment
▶ 1:13:32for their business model. And as the their the the construction of our vessels for the Navy and the Marine has shifted to large shipyards. So, now we need plenty more ships. Our warfighters need them. The Navy's need them. We need autonomous and unmanned vessels. We need a lot of them. And the the the large shipyards can't perform.
▶ 1:13:58And we need to re-embrace the industrial base that we you you have So, in acquisition reforms it's noted that we need predictable stability that extend beyond one budget you have shipyards you have many platform designs, many in unmanned and autonomous vessels for multiple shipyards
▶ 1:14:29that have designed and built their prototypes. Many of them have been tested quite extensively by the Navy and the Marine Corps. They're ready to contract right now for immediate So, it's frustrating to us when we hear, "Yeah, we're making a transition. We're not quite there yet. Our big shipyards are struggling.
▶ 1:14:51You You have You have shipyards, small and regional shipyards, dying on the in our country that are ready to deliver the vessels that our Navy and our Marine Corps need right now. So, will you address, please, respectfully, what are we doing to reform that the the scenario that I've described, which is which is quite startling and real?
▶ 1:15:20Congressman, thank you for that question. I I got I have a very similar site picture to what you just laid out there. I think there's two things that we can do right now. One is a complete design for these small shipyards. Whatever they're going to build, separate the design from the build, because many of them don't have in-house naval architects and ship designers.
▶ 1:15:41And if we give them some Navy specification that they're not really ready to put through their design process, we end up having challenges just getting the design done, much less into construction. And so, we've seen that in a few of the smaller yards along the Gulf Coast, where we didn't do ourselves any favors kind of overloading them with something that was a little too much for them to handle within their So, they used to be able to use a third-party engineering design firms that would kind of do the work for you, but those have even
▶ 1:16:11atrophied in this country. And so, we're really at a place where if the design isn't complete and kind of in a build-to-print place, all of our shipyards can struggle. So, regarding design, Right.
▶ 1:16:23let me say that some of the most brilliant designers for naval vessels, including unmanned and autonomous, especially smaller vessels, under 100 ft, let's say, some of those most brilliant designers work for the for the shipyards, not necessarily for for Navy. Right.
▶ 1:16:41They have like showroom model designs that that they have that they have developed and built prototypes. Um is there a commitment within the executive to to explore and test those existing models and designs and platforms and buy them? Yes, sir. I think the case in point is the Atlantic ship medium where we've got the LST 100 dominant done design that is what we turned around um with minimal Buy America and other legal compliance things we had to do.
▶ 1:17:11Uh that's what was put into our RFP.
▶ 1:17:13to have to take the rest of the record. Gentlemen's time's expired. I also want to recognize that Mr. Whitesides is here. Mr. Whitesides has kindly allowed uh to enter his questions for the record which we would appreciate a response. Mr. Whitesides, thank you for doing that. They've called votes and uh we're several minutes in and I do not want to miss votes, but with that, thank the witness for being here and the hearing is adjourned.