In its first hearing of the new Congress, the House Armed Services Committee examined defense reform and discussed some of the ways that smarter spending can ensure agility and technological superiority when it comes to our military capabilities...
In its first hearing of the new Congress, the House Armed Services Committee examined defense reform and discussed some of the ways that smarter spending can ensure agility and technological superiority when it comes to our military capabilities.
Wednesday’s hearing followed a classified briefing on challenges to U.S. technological superiority from our adversaries and our eroding technology advantage, as well as an informal discussion earlier in the week with the chief acquisition executives for each of the military services.
Chairman Thornberry said, "Our military doctrine has long depended on technological superiority. But it is clear that potential adversaries are hitting us at the seams of our high-tech edge. The consequences of a relatively weaker America will affect every American. If we cannot keep up, we will not have the military capability we need when we need it and the danger to our military personnel will be increased.”
Below you can find a Washington Post article that summarizes some of the hearing’s most poignant moments.
Washington Post: Acquisition reform used to be just about saving money. Now it’s also about national security. By Christian Davenport January 28, 2015 EXCERPTS BELOW … Testifying before the House Armed Services Committee Wednesday, Frank Kendall, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, said threats to the country’s long-held military superiority is another reason the Defense Department needs to get better at buying weapons and services, particularly when technology is involved. … While the United States had been at war for more than a decade, potential adversaries have been catching up by investing in their own systems, in some cases surpassing U.S. capabilities, he said.
Kendall said he was “alarmed” at intelligence reports showing the rate at which the Chinese and the Russians are modernizing their military, saying it “is a serious problem for the country.”
“Even if war with the U.S. is unlikely or unintended, it is quite obvious to me that the foreign investments I see in military modernization have the objective of enabling the countries concerned to deter and defeat a regional intervention by the U.S. military,” he said. … Kendall’s comments came during the first formal hearing of the committee with Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Tex.) as chairman. Thornberry has made improving the way the Pentagon buys things a priority. Too often he said, “we are challenged by our own system, which is too slow, too cumbersome, too wasteful, and too frustrating for those in it and all of those who depend on it.”
