Tom Cotton

I think, as we have discussed, as Senator Ernst raised in her questions, this fits in with the theme of modernization and readiness.

To build upon Senator Sullivan's comments about 450,000 being an unacceptable risk in terms of end strength, there are some ideas in this Congress to mandate a higher level than that, say 480, 490, what have you.

Thank you very much for a productive conversation. Most importantly, thanks for your service to our country.

It sounds to me like it is not working very well.

It seems like a challenging balance to get back to the pre-positioned activity set.

I still have my doubts about that.

Mandating a higher end-strength without increasing funding would mean a hollow force unless you borrowed more money from modernization to pay for readiness.

We cannot send our sons and daughters into combat today without 100 percent confidence in their readiness.

I want to actually touch on something related here about training times.

Just 1 week less to learn to be a repairman for one of those aircraft as opposed to being an operator.

The answer to the question right now, will the Air Force use enlisted personnel to fly the MQ-1/MQ-9, is maybe.

Maybe our society should pay them the respect they deserve then and honor their service and not attach any stigma to what they do since they are keeping us safe in our beds at night.

You need 1,100 to do the mission. You need 300 to build up enough dwell time, for a total of 1,400.

Unmanned aerial vehicles are an increasingly potent resource on the battlefield.

I mean, it works fine if you are an O4 NMI and you live it day in and day out.

Before this Congress considers moving forward with mandates on end strength, we need to consider how we might pay for that to ensure both readiness and modernization.

The Air Force has faced some challenges normalizing the integration of unmanned aircraft into institutional processes.

I hope we do not mirror the B-2 program or the F-22 program in the sense that we actually achieve the number of aircraft we want to since the Air Force and our Nation badly need the B-21 bomber to be a complete success.

I make the comparison and ask the question to highlight the challenges the Air Force has...

The hearing will come to order.

The Director of National Intelligence testified last year that the global threat environment was as severe as he had ever seen it in 45 years.

I have heard a lot from commanders around the world in different combatant commands in the different services about diminishing weapon stockpiles.

If the decision is to proceed with the sole source award for the helicopter replacement program, are you prepared to present this committee with the overwhelming evidence necessary that such an award would actually provide best value to…

Why do you think there is such an unmet demand signal?

Not many examples of something that is more suitable for OCO spending than replenishing rounds. Is there?