00:00Thank you, Admiral. We will begin our first round of questions. Five-minute questions, please.
00:07Admiral Wolfe, I've appreciated our discussions on standing up the Slickam Inn.
00:12Can you update the committee on the progress that the Navy's made on that?
00:17Yes, ma'am. Thank you for the question.
00:19Yes, as I said, we've stood up our program office. We've started to look at what our...
00:23Have you found that to be helpful?
00:26What to be helpful, ma'am?
00:27That you've got the office stood up?
00:31Yes, ma'am. Absolutely.
00:32Is that faster than you anticipated?
00:34Excuse me, ma'am?
00:35Was it quicker than you anticipated?
00:37I wouldn't say it was quicker than you anticipated.
00:40We're still trying to ramp up to get the right number of folks.
00:43But what that small group of people, since we've stood that up, has been able to do in the last year,
00:48we've been able to focus on what are the things that we need to do to get to meeting the requirement of 2034.
00:56But as importantly, it's allowed us to work with NNSA in partnership to select a family of warheads.
01:02It's allowed us to pulse industry and start to get ideas and new ways of thinking into this system
01:10so that we can continue to meet all of the requirements.
01:15And we've really started to hone in on what are those concepts and how are we going to integrate this system onto a platform that was never built to carry nuclear weapons.
01:25We've had many discussions with this committee in the past about how we're going to do that.
01:30And in the last years, we've worked with the fleet.
01:32We've also been able to get their ideas to understand exactly how we can go about this without impacting the larger SSN mission.
01:40You have a 2034 timeline.
01:43What's the greatest risk to that, do you think?
01:45I think the greatest risk to the 2034 timeline, again, it goes back to that.
01:51It's really understanding how are we going to get this system integrated into a platform that was never purpose built for that.
01:58And it's also to be able to do that in a way so that we don't deter from the primary SSN mission.
02:04This will be a whole new infrastructure that we have to stand up.
02:07And so getting all of those things in place, getting the weapons system done, but as importantly, getting the fleet trained, getting all the things that we need to do, that's going to be one of the challenging parts of this.
02:20Mr. Hoagland, can you provide an update on NNSA's progress on the future warhead for Slickman?
02:29Yes, Senator.
02:31Paralleling Admiral Wolf's comments, we stood up a program office last summer.
02:35Among the first responsibilities of that office, they ran a very disciplined warhead selection process using over 30 metrics to grade and rank the suitable warheads for options.
02:49We have selected and identified the W-80 family of warheads as most suitable for this purpose.
02:55This allows us to stay ahead of the interface documents that we'll be pursuing, the engineering required, and emphasis on staying very coupled to the Navy during development with the platform into which that warhead will go.
03:13I appreciate the thoughtful work that both NNSA and the Navy, along with STRATCOM and the combatant commanders are doing to assess the best way forward for this program.
03:26And I appreciate the close communication with the subcommittee as design choices are considered.
03:35So thank you for that.
03:38General Boussier, the Air Force is responsible for many of the components that comprise our NC-3 system, including delivering the new SAOC aircraft.
03:51Can you provide us with an update on that program?
03:54So, Madam Chair, the Survival Airborne Operations Center, the 747-8Is, that will replace the…
04:01Oh, Mike.
04:02Yes, it is.
04:04Can you get a little closer?
04:06Yes.
04:06So the SAOC weapons system that's going to replace the existing E-4B National Airborne Operations Center is fairly nascent in its execution from the contract award last year, but going very well.
04:20So the primary contractor has built facilities in Ohio, and they've purchased the original or the initial buy of 747-8Is, and they're going through the initial processes of it.
04:34We're also outlining the military construction to outfit Air Force Base.
04:40And I think most members of the committee are aware that we stood up the 95th wing to take host of that capability as well as others in that portfolio.
04:52What can you share about the 95th wing that was stood up?
04:56What are the operations of the unit?
04:59How are they progressing at office?
05:00So they're literally – we just stood it up a few months ago.
05:05Colonel Lamont is the first commander.
05:08As most committee members are aware, he was the 595th Command and Control Group commander, which is the group that previously had the NAOC mission.
05:19He's standing up his command team, outfitting his organization, and we're giving him the resources to pull together.
05:26I think most committee members are aware, when I first wanted to stand up this wing, it was bringing together both act-duty, guard, and reserve elements in the realm of communications and control in our special space into the leadership oversight of one commander.
05:42And we're very pleased with its progress so far.
05:46Good to hear.
05:48Senator Kim.
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