Opening Statements

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Rob Wittman (R-VA), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces, delivered the following opening remarks at a hearing on the current state of the Army munition industrial base. 


Rep. Wittman's opening remarks as prepared for delivery:

Good afternoon and welcome to today’s Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee hearing on Army Munition Industrial Base Modernization.

I thank our witnesses for testifying today and look forward to our discussion. 

United States’ support to Ukraine has degraded Russia’s military, but it has also drained our stockpiles and strained capacity across Army’s Organic Industrial Base (OIB)—comprised of 23 arsenals, depots, and ammunition plants.

This strained capacity has exposed major vulnerabilities in our domestic production and supply chain of munitions. 

Many of the Army Ammunition Plants have technology and processes from World War II and do not have the surge capacity to scale production. 

A lack of surge capacity greatly hinders our readiness for future conflicts.

I applaud Army’s recent efforts to progress its 15-year modernization strategy across the Organic Industrial Base, with plans to invest ~$18 billion dollars across Army Ammunition Plants, arsenals, and depots.

However, I am concerned by how long this plan will take to execute and GAO reports that have highlighted a major need for a clearer management structure across the Organic Industrial Base. 

Additionally, energetics are a key piece to munition production and development.

Novel energetics can increase our lethality and range for ordnance, propulsion, and weapon systems.

This will give us a greater edge in future fights and ensure that our technology stays ahead of adversaries like China and Russia.

The lack of central management and strategy across the services has delayed the progress of novel energetic integration into weapon systems. 

Recognizing this challenge, Congress authorized the establishment of a Joint Energetic Transition Office in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024, intended to oversee and coordinate the development and integration of energetic materials across all defense platforms, enhancing both the lethality and safety of munitions systems.

Congress also mandated a pilot program to integrate CL-20 as the primary energetic material in selected weapons systems to evaluate improvements in performance and cost efficiency.

JETO, however, remains delayed and hamstrung by bureaucracy within the Department of Defense. 

Today’s hearing will explore the many challenges the Organic Industrial Base encounters including access to a domestic supply chain, antiquated manufacturing processes and fluctuating requirements.

We will also explore the Army’s efforts to scale munition production capacity.