Transcripts For CSPAN2 Military 20240704

Word from the Nations Capital to whatever you are. It is the opinion that matters the most. This is what democracy looks like. Connect the commanders of u. S. Strategic command and Space Command testify about Nuclear Deterrence for the Armed Service committee and the need to modernize nuclear is based abilities russia, china and other nations close. This is just over two hours. Good morning. The committee receives testimono from anthony, commander of u. S. Teaching in general. Service to the nation and extend our thanks to the men and women who serve with you. As in the past we have asked the commanders the stratcomnd spacecom to testify together. Until 2019. Spacecom was a part of Strategic Command. Mr. Reed as continues as an independent command, its important to identify any gaps or seams that emerged during the transition. On the global stage, russi to b. Recent press reports state that russia is considering violating International Space treaties and endangering the global use of space for Vital Communications and sensing. Further, putin has stab■e staged the strategy stability and arms control policies both our nations have respected for decades. Over the past year, russia has suspended its participation in the star treaty and the comprehensive test ban treaty. Russia continues to develop newn third Strike Nuclear weapons ranging from multimegaton nuclear war tore paoedzos to cruise missiles. At the same time, china is advancing its missile capabilities. They are quickly expanding its land base missile silos, pwaoeulding new air and sea nuclear platforms. And completing its nc3. These develops may have significant impacts on stability in the indopacific and americas commitment to our allies in the region. Sincee are now in a try lateral tri lateral era. General cotton, i would ask for your thoughts on how your command is handling this challenge and how you plan to adjust your structure to deter both russia and china while minimizing the potential for escalation. Chair read there has been in nonrecruited reach which means the program must undergo reviews and analysis for cost overruns. For this year 2024 ndaa require an assessment of the operational impacts of these acquisition delays and would ask for an update on the situation. General whiting, the threats to the United States and allied Space Systems continue to increase. As we are seeing in ukraine, dominance in the electromagnetic spectrum plays a vital role in modern warfare. We have seen large swaths of the battlefield in ukraine incomparable due to g. P. S. Denial for precision weapons, as well as the disabling of commercial slight systems that both militaries use. China for its part has invested heavily in jamming the electronic connect kwreubg technologies that could be used to disability our military and civilian lights. We are in a race to dominate this field because any future conflict will involve a constant battle to control the spectrum and cripple the adversarys Communications Command and control. I would ask for your roles and vulnerabilities in these systems and Lessons Learned from the conflict in ukraine. Space command announced its reached full Operational Capability. I remind you that does not mean full commission readiness. As a war fighting domain, space requires new Battle Management cape inters, especially the ability to detect a threat in space and relay that informatior ability to protect troops on the ground and spacecom must continue to integrate fully with the commanders. I hope youll update us on this concept and what the committee can do. Finally, i would note the Missile Defense mission was transferred from stratcom to spacecom. This mission set has never been more important for our troops around the world as we have seen threatincreasing in the red sea, middle east, and ukraine. I would like to know how you are integrating Missile Defense into your command and what capabilities■o you need to prott our war fighters. Thank you again to our witnesses for appearing today. I look forward to your testimony. I would note from my colleaguesd classified briefing immediately following this session in room 217 to continue our discussion. Let me recognize the Ranking Member. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Mr. Wicker thank you to the witnesses for their service. Senator wicker last years Strategic Posture Commission issued a report that was disquieting. Sonited states must fundamentaly update our nuclear and Space Programs if we have any hope of countering growing threats from russia and china. Unfortunately, the Current Administration has naively maintained the status quo. I am choosing my words carefully. In making this statement. While the United States has stayed complacent, russia and china have advanced byeaps and bounds in their nuclear and Space Programs. Third year of putins war against ukraine, russia remains a major strategic threat to the United States. Most modern Nuclear Arsenal giving it a 10 to one advantage over the United States in tactical Nuclear Weapons. Russia has also developed new weapons unlike anything in the u. S. Inventory. It stocks Nuclear Powered transoceanic, autonomous torpedoes and intercontinental cruise missiles against such weapons we are currently defenseless. As bad as this sounds, china is rapidly becoming an even greater threat. Beijing is phodendizing and expanding its Nuclear Forces at breakneck speed. It will likely outpace the United States in the early already it successfully deployed an operational strategic triade of nuclear missiles, bombers, and submarines. Over the past three years china has tripled its arsenal and pwaeult network larger than ours. The chinese that can drop Nuclear Warheads from orbit anywhere onert et with virtually no warning. Chino openly developing and testing Counter Space capabilities. Each country has used ken weapons kenetic weapons to owe phreut rate obliterate orbiting satellites. When this is done the blasts scatter thousands of debris fragments, endangered hundreds of other satellites, and preview unfortunately, these aggressive actions only scratch the surface of their real capabilities. One would threats to generate a sense of urgency in washington. Todays nuclear and space danger should prompt us to reassess our asmp about the threat, environment, and realign our resources accordingly. This is the unanimous recommendation of the bipartisan Strategic Posture Commission. Partisan commission. Instead, we see more of the same. The Current Administration consistently delays nuclear and space modernization programs. It chooses to doddle in12ed of actively confront a pair of dire truths. Tes Nuclear Capabilities are falling behind. And the future of war will extend to space. Collaboration with congress and the white house could replace that inaction with progress. We can start reclaiming lost ground by following the recommendations of the Strategic Posture Commission. The unanimous recommendations of this bipartisan commission. We must accelerate the National Security National Nuclear Security Administration restoration by basic industrial capabilities. Th is out of touch with reality. Likewise we must make progress on the sentinal icbm and columbia submarine programs. They require sustained investment and innovation. But the benefit is worth the price tag and the elbow grease that it will require. The advances made by our adversaries demand vote defensive and offensive military solutions. I would like to hear from our witnesses about how this committee can help create a sense of urgency. When it comes modernization of our strategic arsenal and adapting our forces to the new threat environment. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Chair reed thank you, senator wicker. General cotton, your comments, please. General cotton good morning, chairman reed, Ranking Member wicker, and distinguished members of this committee. It is an honor to be here today alongside general whiting. And a privilege to represent the United States Strategic Command. This is my second year appearing before you as a stratcom commander. And id like to thank this committee and congress for their support not only to National Defense but to my portfolio. I have submitted my statement for the record. The most Important Message i want to deliver today is that the forces under my command are ready to deter our adversaries and respond decisively should deter rents fail. No adversary should ever doubt our pability today. As a global war fighting command, stratcom sets missions across the gold as the ultimate guarantortional alleyed security. Our forces and capabilities underpin and enable all other joint forces operations. This if challenges unlike anything america has ever encountered. We are confronting not one but two nuclear peers. The Russian Federation and the peoples republic of china. This reality combined by missile developments in north korea, Irans Nuclear ambitions, and the growing relationships amongst those nations adds new layers of complexity to our strategic cal includes cal includes. It calculus. It raises possibilities of simultaneous conflict with multiple Nuclear Armed add adversaries. Projections indicate the p. R. C. s Nuclear Arsenal would 0 warheads by 2030. As russias unprovoked invasion of ukraine enters the third year, its reliance on Nuclear Forces increases as its conventional forces adrift. Beyond russias traditional strategic triad, it is expanding and modernizing Nuclear Options not covered by International Arms treaties. Last friday, president putin stated that 95 of russias strategic Nuclear Forces have been modernized. In short, our competitors are improving their position against the United States and its allies in multiple domains. Far exceeding the pace we have seen just a few years ago. While our legacy systems continue to hold potential adversaries at risk, it absolutely critical we continue to at speed with the modernization of our nuclear triade. Including landbased icbms, the b21, the b52, the columbia class submarine, the nuclear sea launched cruise missile, and the nlrso. As well as numerous related systems. Focusing on the nc3 enterprise with its upgrades and cybersecurity. I urge congress to continue supporting these critical National Security capabilities. Their associated infrastructure, sustainment of legacy systems during the phodendization period modernization period. Let me be clear, whilee to be the priority, stratcom force are ready to fight tonight. My components will always be ready to fight tonight. I thank you. And i look forward to your questions. Thank you. Chairman reed thank you. General whiting, please. General whiting chairman reed, rahm wicker, and members of the committe thank you for this opportunity to testify. Im pleased to joined by my long time friend general cotton. Im honored to 18,000 professionals of the Space Command. Our people are the most valuable asset of National Space power. U. S. Space command working with allies and partners has a moral responsibility to the joint force, the nation, and our allies to provide scapabilitiess of conflict. Since desert storm, the joint force has become reliant on these systems. Ize according to e assumption of always having access to Space Capabilities. This is why u. S. Space command must protect and defend our Space Systems to ensure they are available in the face of the growing threats against us. Inherent in this responsibility is our ability tohe joint force from spaceenabled attack. Our principle strategic competitors, the peoples republic of china antirussian e United States and alleyed Space Capabilities because they know our joint force relies on space to fight the way we want. Precisely, lethally, effectively, and efficiently. To put it plainly, the p. R. C. s and russias actions have transformed space into a contested war fighting domain. Additionally, p. C. R. Military operations in particular have iy space at all levels of warfare. And the Peoples Liberation army is improving their forces eff s by leveraging Space Capabilities. As of jab, 2024 january, 2024, the p. R. C. More than tripled its presence since 2018. With the space and counter Space Systems they have dramatically increased their ability to monitor, track, and target u. S. And alleyed forcesotand orbit. Russia continues to develop, test, and demonstrate their Counter Space capabilities, despite not having achieved their war aims from their invasion of ukraine. This ongoing ground war has revealed military reliance on space and space enabled to be sure, russias war in ukraine has established space as an indelible enabler of terrestrial warfare. Todayeeks to expand competitive advantage over p. P. R. C. And russia by leveraging every available asset, the rest of the joint force, allies, and partners, and u. S. Industry and academia. The United States remains the best military space power in the world,ent our current architecture is opt tim mizeed for a benign space environment. To ensure success in the space environment we now find ourselves in, it is vital that u. S. Space command is delivered improved capabilities and capacity. Fully tested and with Trained Personnel by 2027. While a conflict in space is not inevitable, it would certainly be devastating and disrupt our use of space for decades. So we must be ready if deterrence fails. Simply put, the p. R. C. Is moving breathtakingly fast in space. America must rapidly increase the timeliness, quality, and quantity of our Critical National space and Missile Defense systems to match chinas speed and maintain our advantage. With the u. S. Space force, as well as the army, air force, navy,e and marines and other combatant kpwapbdz commands and agencies, we have known specifically, u. S. Space commands top five priority requirements that are key to delivering on our unified command plan responsibilities are, one, resilient and timely Operational Command and control. Two, integrated space fires and three, modernized agile Electronic Warfare architectures. Four, enhanced battle space awareness for space warfare. Fie systems. Absent commitment to longterm investment in these integrated requirements, we risk seeding advantage to our principle strategic competitors in the space domain. With delivery of capability ande command will attain the required, enduring advantage over any adversary determined to conduct war in outer space. Thus ensuring defense of our homeland, protection of the joint force, and our allies. I am grateful for congress support to u. S. Space command and i americas leadership in space. With your continued backing, the United States Space Command will ensure space remains sustaina■eble, safe, stable, and secure for all. Chairman, i have submitted my statement for the record. I look forwa t chairman reed general cotton, what force structure changes you anticipate in order to maintain our deterrence now that we have a tri lateral Nuclear Competition with russia and china . Can you comment on that. General cotton chairman, thats the lemon i walked into when i. As i said in the last hearing and my confirmation, that was one i was going to jump on as soon as i took command and took the flag. What we have done along with the comments of the Ranking Member in what we are seeing in the Strategic Posture Commission results, we have done work internal to stratcom to see what is going to the requirements in regards to what we need as a fighting force. The n. P. R. Actually gives me the opportunity to do just i am staying within the confines of the administration when the n. P. R. Says what we want to have is a triade, i absolutely agree with that notion that we must in a triade. I agree there is now time for us to look to see what do we do with the program of record that we currently have to ensure that i can cover not only one nuclear adversary, but two. Within all legs of the triade we are having that conversation right now. And there is actually studies going on in which my teammates are part of at stratcom within the department of defense that goes after looking at the recommendations that the Strategic Posture Commission, that validates many of the notions that stratcom came up with even before the release of the commission. Chair reed general whiting, you reached full Operational Capability in dec which is welcome news, congratulations. However, the question is adequate Readiness Posture to support capabilities. They are two different topics. Are there particular areas the commission should be aware of that must be enhanced . General whiting my predecessors declared full Operational Capability as you noted. That was to say r headquarters now can function as the other combatant commands and execute our primary responsibilities as laid out in title x and the unified command plan. As i noted in the Opening Statement our forces today are optimized for a benign space environment. The systems the requirements were largely laid down during a time we didnt face the threats we see. We have to focus on making sure we have the systems to protect and defend our existing architectures, even as we make our current ones more resilient. And we have the systems o to protect the joint force from the space enabling capabilities we now see the p. R. C. Developing for example. And then we have to have the testing capabilities to assure us those new system will work antitraining capabilities so our personnel have the reps and sets if you will be to be ready. Thats where we need toocus is on continuing to deliver capabilities to allow us to operate in the contested domain. Chair reed thank you. General, the program is encountering difficulties. The columbia is slowing down rather than speeding up. We have, i think, some good news with the b21. The basic mission is to maintain a triade and not somethi less. Can you comment, particularly with respect to the sentinal prhis juncture. I know they are evaluating it. General cotton in regards to sentin■o■nds i think ill answer this way. There is no change in the requirements that i currently have on the modernization of all three legs of the triade. That absolutely has to be done. I think whats really important for folks to understand is i think im probably the only combatant command that cant have a gap in my capabilities. Becausa in my capabilities, credibility as well as safe, secure, and effective Weapons Systems is key andto deterrence. As you talk about all three legs going into potential delays, we must ensure that we never have a gap in the capabilities amongst those three legs of the triade. And thats what i look and study every single day to ensure that we dont create a gap in that mission set. Whether its land, sea, or air. Chair reed thank you. Senator wicker, please. Senator wicker lets just follow up on that with regard to the triade, general cotton. I appreciate you meeting with u. Weve got the land based. And the air based. Lets talk about sea based. Your testimony points out that it involves the ssb fleet. And the trident 2 strategic weapon system, s. W. S. Are we where we need to be on that . General cotton all three legs of the triade are past system life. The good news is the men and that are maintaining those systems are doing an incredible job to do that. The problem we face and the problem i encounter every single day with legacy system is ensure i have the required numbers of ssbns available as well as the required number of weapons that are available for the ssbn fleet. As we make the transition to the columbia class, as i mentioned to the chairman, whats going to be incredibly important, se that there is no gap between the transition of the ohio class weapons system to the columbia class weapons system. Senator wicker yes. At least with regard to this there is no talk there is no feeling in your mind that we can die vest so we can later in divest so we can thats nonsense in terms of what youre talking about. General cotton thats correct. Thats why i make that statement on ensuring that i dont c a gap as we do the transition from legacy to a modernized system. I will always have to be able to cover down the requirement with the legacy systems. Senator wicker on page 11 of your testimony, despite the fleets accomplishments and ability to achieve the mission today, it faces continued sustainment challenges that could impact its availability until fully replaced by the columbialass in 2042. Are we asking for enough resources for you to get where you need to get on time . General cotton i dont know that necessarily the issue here. I think what i really see is the ability for the Industrial Base to be able to produce and not drive the gaps. So as we look senator wicker to the extent that we are we are proposing to appropriate some 3. 4 for sul base, that will be helpful, will it not . General cotton it will be. On the phodendization. Toy modernization. To your point, we need to ensure that the legacy systems have the sustainability available to them so i can maintain the legacy systems as well until the new systems arrive. Senator wicker thank you very much. Serious challenges in your bailiwick, i would say. General whiting, you talked about a vulnerability window on page 3 of your testimony. There is a vulnerability window communicated by our competitors and highlighted as we watch conflict unfold in ukraine and israel. What are we learning there . And state for our audience what the vulnerability window general whiting Ranking Member, the vulnerability window is the fact our competitors, p. R. C. And russia, have invested Counter Space capabilities having studied us for decades to hold at risk our ability to fight the way we would like. So now we have to make our current Space Capabilities that provide satellite communications, positioning navigation and timing, those tions we have to make them more resilient against those threats and provide protect and defend capability to help protect them. Those investment have been made. But we need to make sure those programs deliver. And that we continue to invest to assure that we can support the joint force with those kind of ies notice face of these threats. Senator wicker until they are delivered, there is a window of vulnerability. General whiting thats correct. Senator wicker are the requesters asking for enough resources to address this vulnerability window . General whiting i think we laid out all the requirements we need. We know the programs we need. Now we need to make sure those are delivering on time and pulling them as much to the left they can. Senator wicker they need to be pulled to the left. I would like senator wicker explain to people who arent accustomed to washingtonese what pulling to the left means. General whiting that means to deliver earlier than we expect. Senator wicker that is a very important need, is it not . Whito have as much as i could right now. Chair reed senator kaine. Senator kaine thank you to our witnesses. General cotton, in your Posture Statement you mentioned continued congressional support is critical to overhauling the sub Industrial Base to advance the navy shipment efforts. And the execution of the submarine bill plan is national imperative. Im following up on senator wickers questions. I completely agree with this. Especially given the additional commitments we have now taken on with pillar one. How critical are the submarine Industrial Base investments like those included in the supplemental to ensure that the columbia class submarines are delivered on time . General cotton thank you for the question. Id like to say thank you to know there was, even yesterday in regards, many of the members that are before us today were part of that, thank you for the support in addressing the Industrial Base problem. The northwest it is a wicked problem in the northeast it is a wicked problem. The ability i do not h capacity to lose one leg of the triade. And the ssbn, and slbn weapons system is critical to the triade and my operational plans. And the forces that i must present to the commander in chief if warranted. Critical. As i would state for the landbased leg as well as the air leg, absolutely critical that we continue to press and me said, if we can get things earlier, that would be incredibly advantageous as a fighting force. Senator kaine we did have a hearing yesterday on manpower issues generally. When you were asked a question needed more lee sources. You said its not a resource problem. My colleague here said its a welder problem. There is a manpower problem. We are eeriencing it. Australia is experiencing it. The u. K. We have to be very creative in addressing this manpower issue if we maintain the pace you need to kept triade intact and effective. You talked in your testimony here allies, principally russia and the p. R. C. , also in the nuclear space, iran and north korea, and the growing relationships between them. Do you see those relationships going in ways that really impact the stratcom domain . Or are their growing activities in concert more in other military demands . General cotton i see it in my domain remember, part of my portfolio is Strategic Deterrence, that includes nuclear. But even in a nuclear deter rent a conversation in regards to the relationship that we see that transactional relationship between russia and the dprk has manifested itself in different ways over the past eight months. We are looking at that differently on what that relationship is actually what does dprk gain with that new relationship that they have with russia as an example. Senator kaine general whiting, in your written testimony you highlighted collaboration with al least, and commercial stakeholders. As a key advantage we have in space. I was at wall kwrops 4 wallos island recently. And a commercial provided rocket lab to discuss government capabilities in this area. How are you thinking about the importance of collaboration with the commercial space industry . General whiting i think u. S. Commercial space industry is not just an advantage in space, it is an advantage for this nation, period. It is an advantage that is widening an advantage that is widening so we need to continue to partner with the industry to leverage andhe to take advantage of that capability. They lookf contracting such as commercial augmentationt there looking to start next year and this opportunityy5. Enhance our ability to collaborate, we would love to hear that. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Last october the bicameral congressionalio commission on ts strategic posture of the united stat report on the teacher posture. It findings were sobering and basedo adversaries. We are woefully unprepared to address this future threat environment. The commissioners endorsed 81 recommendations. If u we can act upon these, the United States should retain capability and capacity to maintain a safe and reliable ann effective Nuclear Deterrence throughout the next several decades these coming months are going to be working with my colleagues on the committee to include many of these recommendations. General, i conversations about this report. Of their findings and do you agree with the commissioners statement that, quote, the Nuclear Force modernization programs of record is absolutely essential although not sufficient to meet the new threats posed by russia and china, and that the elements of the programs of record should and that the elements of the programs of record should be completed on time, expedited wherever possible and expanded as needed. I do, senator. And can you please provide the committee with your views on which of those comissioners recommendations you think are the most important, or that we should be prioritizing . Tnk you for the question, senator fischer. I was probably one of the first to receive the out brief wrong when it came to the results of the commission. It validated many of the things that inhouse and Strategic Command in regards what do we do with the current arsenal . I have memorized what i would consider pages 48 and 49 of the commission which has 81■a recommendations. Of those i have prioritized what i think should be thanks we get after first. I do believe that we need to take serious consideration and see what uploading and the icbm looks like and what does that come whatat does it take to potentially do that. I do believe we need to have a conversationon in regards to how do we of the report also says the importance of having a credible and effective conventional force, part of that is looking at and ensuring that we have the right longrange standp, conventional weapons as well, that can be placed on a bomber as an example. And then look at what does all legs of the triad triad ln regards of capacity and how can you expand capacity, and how do you build a modernize force that has modularity will be can always keep pace as opposed to the court system that we have senator king and i often refer to in c3 as the fourth leg of our nuclear triad. When the president stability to command control and communicate with our Nuclear Forces, thats essential in maintaining that Credible Nuclear Deterrent that wecl must have. If in c3 fails, then the deterrent fails. We previously discussed, genel come the ports of moving forward weekly within in c3 modernization and the building out tt roadmap with a clear and achievable near and longterm goals. And i appreciate you briefing our subcommittee on that earlier this week about your plans. But in the setting can you please share with the committee how stratcom is working with the services, with the undersecretaries of acquisition and sustainment and research and engineering to integrate new technologies and new systems into that nc3nator, id love to. One of the things that was first on the agenda for us was venture as weulate a modernization of the nc3 force that would look at in different bins. The person must do is ensure that system that is, babel to president of the United States and to decisionmakers in the United States has the ability to fight through. So we want to make sure we look at systems today and ensure we are taking care of systems today. The other that we did is look at the midterm, and to your point, we have collaborad, and thank you for hosting us to present that, you and senator king, for allowing us to present that to the subcommittee, and show the relationship that i have with ans, acquisition and sustainment, dr. Laplante, the increased relationship that i have with rad dr. Hayden issue. Actually missing prior. And in a relationship that have with our cio mr. John sherman. Because of that we are able to coalesce and be able to come up with a plan that is executable. Were able to breathe that to the Deputy Deford terry deputy secretary defenseless in which service companieson were also in the room and now they have measured milestones to grade themselves against where that was an impasse. We still have a lot of work t go, senator, but im pleased with the work that weve done so far. Thank you. Thank you, senator fischer. Senator king please. Thank you, mr. Chairman. We think about whats going on here in this room. History is undoubtedly being watched in w real time in moscow and beijing. General cotton, the focus of this hearing will naturally be on gaps in works that underpromise and what the problems are one of want you to restate what what you statr opening testimony for the benefif our audience far away. You are ready to fight tonight with an awesome response to anyone who attacks his country, is that correct . Than many women to represent United States Strategic Command are ready totr defend, if Strategic Deterrence failure happens tonight. We are ready today. And the capacity of the triad right now is at an actionable level. We are not, i dont want anybody to get the impression that we are somewhat crippled concern of our nuclear deterrent. You have the forces you need to defend the country and also to impose unthinkable costs on a potential adversary, isnt that correct . I do. Thankra one of the problems on the budget that we have here is that this country that is on surprise pick up we dont the capital■ gs government is alo cash flow budget. And really thes recapitalizatin of the nuc triad is a capital investment. Were talking 40 and 50 acids. One of the problems were facing in our budget is it all comes at a looks like its in the Defense Budget butpi i called the peak n the python. There is this bulge of Nuclear Modernization we should be considered capital so i think thats important for people to realize when you look at the Defense Budget, therea piece of it that is really something that pbably shve been done over the past 30 years that were trying to do in a hurry. Is that your reading, general . It is. The way i like it is i am responsible for maintaining and the componentne under me are responsible for maintainingpr National Systems on behalf of the president of the United States. Thank you. General whiting, you talked aboutit we have the best space capability and have for many, many years. Thats the good news. The bad news is the dependency that we have on space, which makes us asymmetrically vulnerable in terms of the relationship with these potential adversaries. What are we doing to think about alternatives to space . For example, i understand recently they are now teaching celestial navigation at annapolis begin. We need to be think about how do we reduce our reliance on space assets, given the development of antiSpace Capabilities of our adversaries. Talk to me about how we mitigate this risk. Senator, thank you for the question. Weve gone to space because of a the advantages that brings us, allows us to operate globally untethered to terrestrial networks, at that speed is we were unopposed for years. Yes, sir, the gives a unique advantage. That to your point and in allg t this, what do we do with our primary capability may not be available . In space commit its its ouo make sure that doesnt happen, but no doubt the services have to train what their secondary plans are and all of them have those plans in place. And to you. Our training those to their people. Several of the services such as the army, the navy, the marines also have relatively small but dedicated cadres of space personnel to help their commanders understand the of space so they can understand when those times might be that they would have to go to the secondary or tertiary plants. Im going to t the beginning that it dont want to over emphasize, but you have partial responsibility for Missile Defense. It bothers me that weve been very slow on the issue of directed energy. Were using 2 million, 5 million missile knocked up two or 300,000 drones. They should be a should be a task for directed energy. I hope thats part of Missile Defense, missile awareness and that all branches, not you necessarily, but all the branches should befe working on two things, Missile Defense at hypersonic defense. Those are strategic Game Changers that it think we have been slow to develop. Isnt directed energy going to be part of thedefense . I was in huntsville meeting with the Missile Defense agency and we talked about directed energy, and a note that is something they are looking at and i agree with you. I think need to be part of her future. I want more than looking at. I wantt development soon. I thinknk we should be have a capability in the ritzy right now. This is an opportunity to use that capacity. And finally i just want to associate myself with my cochair senator fischer on nc three. That is part of the triad. I congratulate you on the work you are doing that urge you to accelerate and continue because the whole idea is the cornerstone of the defense of this country is deterrence. And the adversary detect a weakness in her deterrence, and in the three is the glue that holds it all together. Were vulnerable and so i i si congratulate you but what to project to keep going earnestly and a■vcceleratehe progress on the issue. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, senator king. Senator cotton, please. General cotton, general whiting, welcome tnk morning and extend my thanks to all the men and women who serve under your command. General cotton, since xi jinping took about a little over ain decade ago chinas Nuclear Arsenal has increased by more than 100 . 0 by 2035 the Department Anticipates chinasarsenal was. How would you characterize the threat posed to the United States by chinas rapidly growing Nuclear Arsenal . As my predecessor said, i love this term tpho tkpweu terminology, the breakout that we saw and the advancements and how quickly the advancements that we are seeing on china to rapidly triade is breathtaking. Senator cotton unprecedented . The pace at which they are expanding . General cotton it is. Senator cotton your statement says they have a triade today. Is that that is correct. Senator cotton may not be the most cutting edge. They are working on stealth bombers. General cotton correct. Senator cotton do you think a nation that multiplies its Nuclear Arsenal as rapidly as china does, especially when governed by communists, is doing so with peaceful intent . General cotton i think the minimum deterrent strategy that we used to hear that china unlinks themself with as far as their that their Strategic Policy i find hard to believe that that can still be a policy with the way they are bld senator cotton for years china had minimum deterrence, but they also are wellknown for a policy called hide and bide, hide your strength and bide your time. Do you think its fair china is shedding that strategy . General cotton senator, they are showing us their capability and how fast they can grow. Senator cotton they also have , policy no first use. Does it make sense to expand your Nuclear Program by 500 and retain the no first use policy . General cotton i go back to using that■ as the opening for a minimum deter strategy. That probably is in alignment. What we are seeing not so much. Senator cotton big investment of Natural Resources to expand by Nuclear Weapons if you plan to keep a no first use policy. Wouldnt you say . General cotton even though we havent heard them say that. You are correct. Senator cotton it will shock everyone to hear the chinese of lying. Not just about their Nuclear Weapons. The tibetans would probably have somethingy about that. Lets look what we are doing to counteract this threat. First, lets stay on the threat. How does chinas Nuclear Arsenal compare to ours today . General cotton ,i today we are still superior. But like i said, i think the reality is we are going to have to continue to modernize our current system. We are superior today. Senator cotton today. If china continues on the pace which the Department Projects by have achieved parity with the United States . General cotton in the realm of their yes. Senator cotton what if you combined the total forces of china and russia bytwo countried have nuclear overmatch against the United States and the current pace . General cotton weapons count would be larger than our weapons count. Senator cotton what we are tkoeg. Is the b21 moving quickly enoughmeet your future deterrent requirements . General cotton the limited production rate of the b21 is the only thing i wish we could do quicker. The fact that that is an incredible sixth generation platform all indications are that that weapons system is moving along at a great pace as far as delivery. The ability for production. As a war fighters id love to havenice to have more than 100 . General cotton yes, sir. Senator cotton lets look at, i guess, a fir aircraft, the b52. I think its 79 years old now . General cotton 70. Cotton alms some senators. We often hear criticism like, well, were flying aircraft that are older than general cotton. We are flying aircraft that these generals grandparents for flying. Im of the, if it aint broke, dont fix it philosophy. Its highly effective. Why is it critical that the air force reengine b52 for your needs . General cotton thank you for that question. It gets picked on quite a bit on its age but as we look at what the capacity and what the capable is of that weapons system that platform, its amazing. And what that will be able to do for need to think about thible for it to carry lrso. This is the platform that will carry lrso. Its the platform that has a lot of mass as far as capability. I want it to longrange strike standoff samebility capability even greater than it has. Senator accountton iits wellmaintained, it seems like a big part of our weapons. Senator warren . Senator warren Strategic Command is responsible for Strategic Deterrence including Nuclear Weapons. We were already planning to spend 2 trillion to modernize and maintain those weapons over the next 30 years. Now we are learning that the cost for those programs are going to be even higher than we anticipated. General cotton, i know you are not responsible for managing these programs, but we turn to your command for your best military advice on what these programs will mean for our National Security. General cotton, do you agree that decisions about how to build our Nuclear Posture should be based on the most accurate general cotton senator, can you rephrase senator warren should we base our decisions based on the most Accurate Information weve got when were making the decisions . Kip absolutely. Senator warren ok, good. D. O. D. Did motte do that for the Sentinel Program which will replace all landbased intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. They have already concluded that the base assumptions for the costuote quote, werent particularly valid. When i requested d. O. D. Contract with a respected group of outside experts in 2021 to determine the technical feasible of extending the minuteman 3 missile program, instead of buying expensive new weapons, i was told they didnt have Contract Authority to do so. That was not true. They Just Department want an honest assessment of the real risks of sentine then, the coste program has soared. We initially thought the price for sentinel would be about 95 billio now the air force reports that it will be 132 billion. Nearly 40 more. By law, that kind of increase triggers a mandatory review of the programs viability. Now im glad that this review is happening. But we need independent experts, people who will ask hard questions. We need to ask about the Sentinel Program, tang yen cotton. Would you oppose an outside review of the Sentinel Program if it helps enhance our National Secu senator warren, i agree with the previous assessments that were done with the last three administrations in regards to where we are on replacement of the minuteman program. As i said earlier emmett opening comments, what i cannot endure as a Combatant Commander that has to provide to the commanderinchief is i cannot endure having a gap or a drop in the reliability of a current platform that we currently have. Thats part of the triad. I appreciate that. What im talking that he is i i want to make sure what were going to see replacing it with has been fully vetted and is the right direction for us to go. Even before this latest cost breach there were bright blinkingas warnings that this program was not on track. The air forces aggressive schedule meant they were relying on aa. Mature technology which e gao worn at the time created additional risks of Cost Increases and schedule delays. S. Now, best practices are budgeting these types of complex programs is to develop i whats called an integrated master schedule, analysis is going to break down the project into steps, resources, and budget needed to complete it. Sort of budgeting 101. Sentinel did not have that. General cotton, you warn that the complexity of the subprogram, im quoting here, the challenge air force and Industry Partners in ways not seen for a generation. Let me ask, do you think it is important to Program Management guardrails in place to help us prevent delays and cost overruns . 2v senator, the rest of the statement was, youre absolutely right because i said it numerous times that its going to be a megaproject that we havent seen since actually did onset of the minuteman iii and placement in the early 60s. Im a taxpayer asel i want to ensure that one, either weapons system that can deliver the capabilities that a need to deliver. I also need to make sure that we dont create a larger gap in having assessments that would drive leg of the triad in regards of how it can produce or have forces go to meet the need. And and i appreciate that, general, but we have got to have planted this going to actually work. We cant just keep burning money and saying at some point we hope were going to be able to deliver this thing. I am already saying, they already saying, quote, they will make the trades l program funded, analysis be damned. Ill be watching closely to see if the dod takes this reviewthaw because of the cost overruns, i would looking to see if they take this review■ seriously, or if its justpa another paperwork exercise to justify throwing more money at more expensive Nuclear Programs. Thank you, general. Thanks, senator warren. Senator rounds, please. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Fi of all of me just say to both of you, thank you for your service to our country into your teams as well. Today, werei0alking about some of the most strategic Weapons Systems that our country has. And while our conventional forces are absolutely critical, our conventional forces effective because we have Nuclear Deterrencee in our strategic Weapons Systems to ssupport them. General whiting, china and russia both understand w how vil our Space Capabilities are to thee joint force, and theyve been developing capabilities to count our space assets for years. Are we currently postured to win a conflict that begins in or extends into space . I mean, we take a look at this right now, and really appreciate senator king comments with regards to the fact that we ready to fight tonight. But can we win that battle . And what about five and ten years from now on the current trajectories . Senator, thank you for the question. Today, i am completely clear in saying we do have the worlds best military Space Capabilities. I will use the same word that general cotton use when the look of what china and russia are doing particularl building with the countybased weapons. Theyre moving breathtakingly fast. And so we must ensure that the investments that a been made and we think the congress for this investment, continue, those programs continue to execute and we continue to invest to make sure we keep pace with that breathtaking pace. Part of that i suspect you have provided and you will provide an unfunded priorities list that will likely be sent to ng or so. If we were to fully fund that, that upl, that unfund priorities list, how would that impact your readiness in the near term . Yes, sir. The priorities that i expect will be on our unfunded priorities list are about improving our posture for the contested domain, and to move a the pace and head of the pace that russia and china are moving. Thatll give us the capacity and the capabilities that we believe we need in three, five, and ten years. Thank you. General cotton, i understand by law the department of Defense Services cannot invest funds into a program that is going to be retired within five years. Provision. T as a sun do you have any concerns about your legacy systems potentially being divested to early . And the Service Secretaries can offer a way for but are not required to, and replacement programs will not start to come online until the 2030s, if they are on te. If this policy does not change, how will it impact your gigi deterrence . Senator rounds, thank you for the question. And you are referring to title x u. S. Code 2244 alpha imagine imagine you were waiting for that one or something. Youre absolutely right, because we can talk about it all morning. You know, you always have plans that show overlap between legacy system and we modernize systems. As i stated earlier when it comes to Strategic Deterrence, credibility is foundational to that. And credibility is ensuring that the transition from legacy system, that there is no gap between a transition between a legacy system and among the system. But we are talking about modernizing significant part of the triad right now and is going to be a time in which we will have to both systems, a legacy system at the new system operating and it may be for more than five years, correct . That is correct. Right now that by law would stipulate that you wouldnt modernize components of the legacy system if youre within five yearsm of what you initiay sought as as aal transition e new system, as i could be troublesome. The Sentinel Program is critical to our deterrent capability, correct . A modernize replacement to the minuteman iii system is actually foundational to the triad. Can we afford to delay the implementation of the Sentinel Program . We are late. What you mean being late . I would much rather, you think, i think all colleagues would agree, i would much rather not have to have a transition of legacy system to modernize systems that are already past the service date. I know my time is running out but im going to ask this. I do think you necessarily have the opportunity to completely respond to the less comments with regard to the Sentinel Program, and the reason why it needs to move forward, even if the cost goes up in the review is completed. This isnt something we can simply sit back and take our time on. Respond please if the chairman what about that . Please. Thank you. We cannot center around the analysis andan assessments have been done that we need to make the decision on regards as the modernization of a very important leg of the triad, and thats the landlady and icbms late of the system. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, senator rounds. Senator hirono, please. Thank you, mr. Chairman. This is for, well, both of you, both of the witnesses. The 2024 ndaa directs the dod to develop a plan for the Missile Defense of hawaii and mility Construction Projects that will enable the timely deployment of Missile Defense capabilities across all locations in indopacom. I believe the president signed the ndaa in december, so you have some 90 days or so to complete and provide this plan. How is that plan coming along . For either one of you. Senator, ill take that question. Since last you we took on unified command plan responsible for trans regional Missile Defense operation and support and planning. At this tim not familiar with where that plant is. If i could take that question for the record, i could evacuate specifics of where that is. I have been very concerned over time about the Missile Defense of hawaii, and so i i would also like you to contemplate whether we need to mitigate any potential risks from our nearpeer competitors, as you both have discussed before. We have this plan can Missile Defense plan in place. Because as you know we had a major mishap in hawaii which led to my ongoing concerns about Missile Defense of hawaii. General whiting, the 2024 ndaa required a study on the consolidation or transfer of the space functions of the National Guard which must include a costbenefit analysis for each of the potential futures of these units. The options are the creation ofg the status quo, or transferring phase space functions into the space force. General whiting, what is the current role of the National Guard in space . And how would you transfer the space functions into the space force . And what wouldld■ you need if tt is the finding of a study . The reason for the study was there were some decision made as to what would happen to National Guard space, you could call it space units. There were some decision made without this kind of plan or study or costbenefit analysis that would lead to the three options that invention. Being cd for the National Guard space force . Senator, thank you for the question. From a Space Command perspective we very much appreciate the great support we get from a number of states that have their guard units have Space Missions here its vital to us that however those options are resolved that we dont have an interruption to those missions. I would have to defer to the United States space force for the specifics of what options are being analyzed and where theyre hded,s vital to us we not have an interruption to those missions. As youre probably aware we do have a space function in the National Guard in these are very skilled people and so i think we need to make sure that whatever decisions are made based on an assessment that takes all off these issues in consideration. For general whiting, previously space alone used by the government but has become the domain for new ways of commercial satellites, broadband medications and general whiting, are dod and you Space Command specifically and appropriate leveraging commercial Space Capabilities . Senator, thank you for the question. I think u. S. Commercial space industry is one of our absolute national advantages, and we have leverage that in the past. I think we can find even better and more innovative ways to leverage it going forward. Rcial space industry is living incredibly fast. They are widening their lead and commercial Space Services over other countries, as we want to make sure we are partnered with him as tightly as possible. And what protections exist for the commercial satellites against physical Cyber Attacks . Yes, maam. As part of my unified command plan responsibilities i do have a responsibility to protect and defend assets as directed. So as we work withec these commercial companies we already have information sharing agreements with the companies that we are already contracted with the capability, and actually sit with us of one of our Operations Centers in california fis levels ofig intelligence to know what those threats are and we share that information, and that we want to work with them as well to help them harden their Cyber Infrastructure so that they are not denied to the cyber domain. Because that would impact our ability to leverage their services. I think that aspect of protection and the cyber domain, i have talked with private entities where they need to be sure that they are up on what kind often spending to put in place as they work with you to make sure that we are all on the t same page in terms of cybersecurity issues. Thank you. Thank you very much, senator hirono. T y here and thank you to all the troops under your command. Im going to write to because indeed more context on a couple of previous points. Im going to sta with you, general cotton, in response to sort of a general question from senator fischer. You said something to the effect of adequate standoff capability. Could you drill down on that little bit . Are we sure in the capacity . Conventional weapons . And if so, do you have a solution mind . Mind . General cotton senator cramer, thank you for the question. I can get a little more detailed on what i meant by that. As we look at who our adversaries are, we would all agree having standoff fires longrange capabilities will be beneficial for us against the adversary. What i mean by that more specifically, and this is not a parochial statement, its a matter of fact, is that i think being able to have a bomber carry a Long Range Strike weapon because range is dependent on size. Its fuel capacity of the weapon. Would be at very beneficial for us as a nation to have that type of capability for our bomber force. Notus weapons that could budes for myriad of Weapons Systems that one could be specifically used in a conventional sense for the bomber that gives it incredible standoff and incredible rainle. What that does for us is that actually makes it so it doesnt have to hit a tanker as often as well. So and actually keep the air crew and the platform out of harms way. Senator cramer thank you for that. Something in response senator king, using his usual great illustrations of a pig and a python, i believe is what it was, referencing the lack of capital budgeting in our system, transparency budgets are something thats always frustrated me on this committee. Particularly with regards to my favorite, air force. You referenced the role of the of your command as national as a national role. Understandably. United command. Can you flesh that out a little bit for me as well . I have long been concerned that were not adequately i dont want to say appropriate, but appropriating credit where credit is due and then cost where cost is due. General cotton thank you, senator cramer. I think theres a lot of times where there can be confusion even within a Service Component that theyre advocating for a weapons system or platform. That that is utilized in their operational domain. It absolutely is. But when it comes to Strategic Deterrence weapons, and Strategic Deterrence platforms, i think that tho what i mean by that is that we are you know, we are doing the care and feeding on paf of the systems that ultimately belong and i got it, all Weapons Systems belong to the president of the United States. But in particular when we talk about Strategic Deterrent weapons, its much more than the columbia being part of the United States navy or the bomber icbm becoming part of the United States air force. And i think theres probably room for conversation on how do we make that so we cannot have these conversations on funding. Senator cramer that was therapeutic for me if silos within the same services are confused i feel better about my confusion now. I theres a lack of space in your leadership chart. Can you speak to that a little bit as i look at the two of you sidebyside and realizing the history of both commands. Changed we lost our space billetts and the yert of airmen who were space specific. I will tell you, my colleague de a joint force team that assists us. What im missing though is a Space Component officer, like a onestar general, that is a component linkage to the Space Component. That i have a direct linkage with the air component, air force Global Strike command. I have a direct linkage with the Navy Component with the joint force maritime command. I do not have a direct linkage. We are in the works though, thah general salter for example, to fill that billett, because you were also part of the meeting we had here recently. What we want to do, you saw a lot of that was the space layer. How cayo to have experts and one that is at a general officer level, to be able to articulate the requirements especially when it comes to nc3 if you will. It the vulnerability to space im over time but if you could elaborate to that point . General whiting its important that we ensure that Strategic Command has all the insights they need as they rely on the space layer for Early Warning and protected communications. As general cotton noted, today u. S. Space command provides a joint integrated space team in his headquarter they sit in omaha, to assist with that planning and make sure that he has insight into what were doing so we can best coordinate our plans together. Senator, i did not realize you were in the room prior to recognizing senator hirono. Thats ok, i wasnt actually at my seat. I want to follow up on what senator cramer was asking about, standoff capability. General cotton, so two years since russias invaded ukraine, weve been forced to rethink our Nuclear Posture and how our own deterrence works with growing Nuclear Capability of our adversaries. Russia has recently rejected a proposal to reopen bilateral Nuclear Arms Control talks. Their behavioring their rhetoric, along with chinese aggression, north koreas regular testing of Ballistic Missiles and those kind of capabilities, iran, increasing its supply of enriched uranium, this underscores the importance of having a strong deterrencers. The lrso, Long Range Standoff missile system, its developed in tucson, arizona at rayth this will be a critical feature of our Nuclear Deterrence. The ability to deploy this missile is a powerful message to our allies. So yen, beyond what senator cramer was asking about standoff more broadly, can you expand on the importance of the lrso to our overall deterrence and give any updates you have on its fielding . General cotton thank you for the question. When we talk about the air leg of the triad, it comprises two of the tasks that are supposed to do. Gravity bomb deployment and release, and the ability to have a Long Range Standoff strike weapon. Lrso is absolutely critical for my mission set as a Long Range Standoff nuclear weapon. It will replace the outcome that is currently carry. From the reports that im receiving from the component is■ the raytheon is doing a great job manufacturing that weapon for us. Once again just like everything else, i if i get it sooner than later, senator, thats good for us. As far as maintaining the senator kelly is the i. O. C. Of this public or something we have to talk about downstairs . General cotton i would rather have that conversation with you downstairs. Senatorly bend lrso, what else do you think we could be doin to deter our adversaries we are currently not doing . General cotton i think, earlier conversation on what do we look as far sizing of the current triad and what does that look like . Its in alignment with the steady results of the posture commission. Its also in alignment for the work that, to be frank, the pentagon is doing in response to the posture commission. Its work were doing in stratcom. I can elaborate in incredible detail in the secure session to let you know the work were doing in that regard. Senator kelly thank you. Thank you, general. General white, a different subject. The spice priorities framework aims to see our secure our space Industrial Base including improving supply chains for crucial satellite components like traveling way tubes and traveling way tube amplifiers. In the United States here we face some chages in this area with limited domestic capabilities and also competition from china thats often hely subsidized. And this situation leads to supply chain risks for essential National Security and commercial satellites. Ive got an amendment to the defense bill t support the development of a competitive u. S. Source for these components and im going to keep working on that this year. General, do you believe its important for the department of defense to have reliable u. S. Source for these critical satellite components to ensure quality, Timely Delivery and fair pricing and what other risk do you see from having inadequate domestic supply chains for key satellite components. General whiting thank you for the question, i think its important we have robust supply chains from trusted sources in the we dont have that, i think the risk is that this widening lead that our commercial space industry has created for us, at and that would give our competitors a chance to catch up we want to ensure that doesnt happen. Senator kelly traveling wave tubes and wave tube amplifiers are obscure companies, most folks havent heard of them but theyre importt us maintaining our edge in space technology. Thank you. Senat scott . Senator scott thank you, chairman. Thank you both for being here. Thank you for what you do. Chairman whiting, can you talk about the how much dependence our defense capabilities, our offensive capables are on our satellite systems . General whiting yes, senator, thank you for the question. The army, navy, air force, marines are terrestrial forces if you will. Are sized assuming theyll have access to Space Capabilities. Because of that weve been able to reduce the number of force we have and can prosecute targets with fewer assets than decades if we dont have access to those Space Capabilities. If those forces dont have access to those Space Capabilities we we need to fight without them. Thats why we have to protect and defend against the threats arrayed against them. Senator scott how many are we relying on . General whiting its our satellite communications, Global Positioning system, intelligence systems, weather systems, Missile Warning systems. Its a host of different capabilities we provide from space. Senator scott so if our adversary was able to demolish 10 of them would it create much debris . General whiting almost certainly, yes, senator. Senator scott anif that debris was floating out there, how much of our satellites one at risk because of just the debris hitting them . General whiting that is a concern. Its why we monitor the 45,000 trackable objects on orbit to watch for potential conjunctions but we dont want debris on orbit which would increase the risk to our systems. Senator scott if you were an adversary, wouldnt that be the cheapest thing to do . If you want to cripple our ability wouldnt the cheapest thing to do bep 10 or 12 of the large satellites out there . General whiting i dont know the cost of that but it would certainly be incredibly reckless. It would pollute the very domain theyre trying to operate in themselves because its indiscriminate. It impact ours satellites, their satellites, other countries satellites. It would be incredibly reckless baifor. Senator scott e russias forces. If you look at our forces as compared to russias forces, how dependent are they on satellite systems as compared to us . General whiting they are less dependent for the reason they are a continental power and expect to be able to run fiber and to shots and those kinds of things. They dont have the same global Type Military we do. They are less dependent. Senator scott how about china . General whiting they have replicated in many way what is we have done in space. As they try to push us out if the fir■kst islan chain and Second Island chain in the pacific they have gone to space for the advantage it brings. They are trying to replicate what we have done in the past. Senator scott if they were able to hamper our abilities, our satellite system, lets say china, they were only focused on taiwan, japan or well for sure korea, right . They need their satellite system to do anything with regard to korea, right . General whiting senator, i think china, they are getting to the point where all of their forc spaceenabled. So i think in any conflict they would be reliant on Space Capabilities. Senator scott only the power they want to project was korea, taiwan, japan, thats all they cared abo, wouldnt need their space capability capabilities as much . General whiting i think they would need those Space Capabilities because theyre looking beyond those countries and looking at the u. S. And looking at where the u. S. Would be flowing forces from and that has required them to go to space. Senator scott how about iran . They dont need it. General whiting iran is not a spaceenabled militar senator scott do they have any ability to impact us in space . General whiting they have not demonstrated that ability, but we are watching their Space Program and Ballistic Missile program and can only think about what theyre thinking about for the future. Senator scott what about north korea . General whiting they have that would have an that could have an effect on us they should not be launching into space because of u. N. Resolutions that say they cant use Ballistic Missile technology for that. We have to keep and eye on what theyre thinking about in the future. Senator scott north korea probably doesnt need access to space. General whiting they are not spaceanibled today. Senator scott but south kree our troops in south korea need it yes. Thank you both for your im going to continue on this electromagnetic spectrum on the operations we have because general cotton, in your nomination hearing you indicated electromagnetic Spectrum Operations our top priority. So your forces have done amazing work at the joint center for electromagnetic readinesst at Nellis Air Force base in my home state of nevada. Very proud of nellis but even with the efforts made so far i am sure that theres probably more work to be done comes to what actions do you need to take tost ensure that the united stas can deter, if needed, and defeat threats across the electromagnetic spectrum . And how can we help withn that . Senator rosen, thank you for the question and thanks for acknowledging the incredible work that that dean is doing. I would likei to highlight some of that work that that team is doing, and that includes specifically the sport to the eucom commander and what was he ukrainian efforts, as well as the support to israel in the fight that we are seeing there. So is coming out of the blocks doing incredible work. So thank you for acknowledging them. As you knois when we stood up, s when i was given the tyresponsibility. And as youve heard throughout the testimony today, electromagnetic spectrum is incredibly important for us. It iss a dom was uncontested for us over the past 30 years. Now that we have a fight, a potential fight with adversaries that, one, understand that thats a domain that we rely o o do something to counter having dominance in thatct domain and spectrum, its incredibly important. And as elite component or combatant command to ensure that we have the proper training, the proper live virtual and collaborative training techniques, because as you know some of what we want to be able to test and train to cant be done in the live environment. So we continue to work on how do we, i call them wraps and many d forces. How do we give them the reps and sets in a virtual environnt that shows all ranges of how they can contest that a private. Mikey was going to followup with you on that so we can as work on next years ndaa, thinking that what we need to do here, incredibly important, what we do at nellis and im going to move onto the reps and sets and, of course, thats modeling simulation. We had that for space, to come right . So general whiting, want to keep on nellis you for a bit. As you space delta one trains base in nevada. These weapons officers graduate from the pinnacle of training offered by the space force to prepare guardians for what they may need in war. So building on what you may need, what you have now, the delete tomato and simulate, how does this prepareour forces and what can we continue to do to give you that simulations you need . Because you may not be able to go up there. Thank yous center for the questionnaire and exacted equipment that happens at nellis as i was stationed there a decade ago asde vice command of the air force warfare center. Modeling and absolutely foundational for us in space because as you allude to is expensive for us to get there and so we cant just launch all sortso ofhings just to do training. Although theres an aspect ofer that we need to do. Modeling and simulation i was to do multiple iterations of variouss activities and to simulate the threats we now see arrayed against us so that these weapons officers have the skills that when they go back to the share that among the crew force. So that modeling and simulation is absolutely critical to us. We want to continue to grow that capability for allca space forc, because of a support Space Command as we move forward. Perfect. We will work with you on that moving forward, butll speaking s base im going to continue with you, general whiting. Considering reported collaboration between iran and Russian Space activitiesol that could potentially challenge our inches, our u. S. Interests and security, can you elaborate a little bit on whats happening in iran, given irans progress on their Ballistic Missiles Space Programs. How might the additional s statd her partners inabilities . We know theres increasing challenges going on there, the emerging threats, and particularly their meaning threat. Can can you speak to that . Yes, senator. Our relationships across the allies andour partners is truly one of our advantages. We had signed a number of Space Situational Awareness sharing agreements as you allude to with over 30 countries. Three of w those were in the middle east number of ongoing discussions to expand that. But as a portable pulsing with those countries in middle east it helps us to have a better understanding of going on in space. And so that when we see potential bad actors acting, we can call out bad behavior. Also builds a set of partnerships to deny those partnerships toen countries like russia and iran. So those are very important for us and we continued to grow them, senator. Thank you. Appreciate it. Rosen. Ks, senator senator schmitt. Thank you, mr. Chairman. So i think i believe this is if the most important committees mn the senate for a variety of reasons. Certainly our role in advocating for the National Defense is back home and talking to constituents and having those conversations about what are the threats come here from the but also explaining the things that we learnedp appear. So my two questions are related to that here that would be more sort of conversation about maybe the question of it gets in some whom i would like both the to address first. We will leave this to take you live to the floor of the u. S. Senate we are today lawmakers are considering the nomination of an assistant defense secretary. This week■ senators are expected to vote on the first the two federal spending packages to fund the government october 12 for a partial Government Shutdown possibly friday at0a midnight. Arizona independent senator Kyrsten Sinema has announced she will not be seeking reelection and will be leaving the chamber at the end of this year. Now live coverage of the senate here on cspan2. The presiding officer the senate will come to order. The chaplain dr. Barry black will lead the senate in prayer. The chaplain let