During a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Thursday, Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) asked Air Force Chief Gen. David W. Allvin about funding for cyberthreat preparedness programs.
00:00Senator Moran, followed by Senator Murray and Senator Bozeman.
00:05Chairman, thank you.
00:06Gentlemen, thank you for your presence and for your service.
00:09I want to visit first about the B-21.
00:12STRATCOM Commander General Cotton recently stated that the Air Force's plan to acquire 100 aircraft is insufficient
00:19and that 145 aircraft are necessary to meet global requirements.
00:24Either General Alvin or Secretary Mink explained the importance of this investment
00:29what plans does the Air Force have to accelerate the production of this aircraft to increase the number in the fleet?
00:37Well, thank you, Senator Moran.
00:38This is the B-21 radar certainly is cutting edge.
00:41It is absolutely necessary to maintain our dominance in the future.
00:45The program of record of a minimum of 100 is what General Cotton was referring to.
00:51Having mass is also extremely important.
00:54And so as we look at the minimum of 100, we will continue to evaluate how many need to be at the time of production
01:01to make sure that they're meeting the need.
01:03And if there is an increased number, we'll certainly address that.
01:06With respect to acceleration, I think this is one of those where we certainly need to continue to look at it.
01:11We have bought down a lot of risk in the design.
01:13We have bought down a lot of risk in the development.
01:15We are currently buying down risk in the test.
01:18This is also an aircraft that is manufactured differently.
01:20And so we want to ensure that before we accelerate, we don't want to be overly zealous without fully understanding
01:27what it might mean to accelerate beyond a certain production rate.
01:30So that is something we are intensely looking at from not only an affordability point of view,
01:35but also a feasibility point of view to ensure that we don't go too fast.
01:40But it is very, very promising, and it's a significant capability for our Air Force.
01:44Thank you. I was there at the unveiling in Palmdale.
01:46It was quite an experience.
01:50General Alvin, the 177th Information Warfare Aggressor Squadron trains U.S. Air Force joint
01:58and allied personnel in replicating current and emerging cyber threats as a red team,
02:04cyber red team, testing military networks.
02:06I'm concerned about the impact of cuts to the office of the Director of Operations and Test Evaluation
02:11on the scope and services of red team missions.
02:15Are you aware of these cuts?
02:18And what's your thoughts on how it might affect active duty, guard, et cetera, both inside and outside the cyber domain?
02:26So, Senator, we are certainly aware that those deliberations are ongoing for those cuts.
02:31We are going to evaluate what, if any, impact there are to the actual operational effectiveness of the red teams
02:37because they do provide a critical capability to learn before combat where your vulnerabilities might be.
02:43So we will be addressing that and looking very closely if there are any impacts
02:46and how we might mitigate those going forward.
02:48In today's threats of cyber, these red teams seem exceptionally valuable and important to the country.
02:55And highly skilled.
02:56They're amazing airmen.
03:00I'm supportive of the efforts to replace the E-4B Survivable Airborne Operations Center.
03:07Wichita's NIAR is supporting, that's the National Institute of Aviation Research at Wichita State University,
03:13is supporting this capability by digitally twinning 747-8,
03:18allowing the Air Force to own the technical data package for the SAOC aircraft.
03:24Secretary Mink, could you highlight the importance of this program's continued full funding
03:29and the value to the Air Force owning the data rights to new and legacy programs?
03:37Yeah, obviously it's a critical part of our nuclear control architecture.
03:42As General Alvin spoke before, some of the challenges with the F-35 is the government does not own all the technical data
03:49associated with that aircraft.
03:51That is something we do not want to have happen again.
03:54So we are working our way through to acquire that technical data one way or another.
03:59In this case, as you're referring to, pulling the airplane apart and basically rebuilding the data package.
04:07That has value, Mr. Secretary.
04:10Yes.
04:11It's challenging, but it has a lot of value.
04:16The Air Force recently discovered systemic issues with the B-1's aircraft backbone, detrimental to the bomber fleet.
04:24After failed attempts to fix the problem, NIAR once again developed a solution that will reset the life cycle of the aircraft.
04:31General Alvin, I want to highlight the importance of this project, which will maintain and extend the life of the B-1.
04:39And could you discuss the value of non-traditional suppliers in supporting sustainment of the Air Force's platforms?
04:45Thank you, Senator.
04:46You just gave us Exhibit A.
04:48It's fantastic to be able to integrate that sort of capability and skill.
04:51And Wichita State University, also being very involved, their innovative nature has really drawn another source for us to be able to get the maximum readiness out of the platforms we have.
05:01It's highly important and very much appreciated.
05:04I'm pleased to see you smile when I ask my questions about these topics.
05:08And finally, just a sentence, a comment.
05:12The 190th Air Refueling Wing, located in Topeka at Forbes Field, has a long and storied history in supporting the missions of refueling of the KC-135.
05:24It's proximate to the 22nd Air Refueling Wing and the 767 fuselage production line, both occurring in Kansas as well.
05:34Secretary Mink, as the Air Force evaluates the location for the KC-46 MOBE, I would encourage you to strongly consider the 190th Refueling Wing in Topeka.
05:46It's a huge and significant issue for us.
05:49Yes, Senator, we will.
05:51I was reluctant to bring this topic up because I look to see other states might have other members of this committee who have the same thoughts about their locations.
