John McCain

Admiral Mulloy, if LCSs are escorts, how do their capabilities match up against the expected threat?

Sequestration would significantly reduce the Navy's ability to fully implement the defense strategy and damage national security.

Given that potential adversaries in coming years are expected to field increasingly capable A2/AD systems for threatening U.S. surface ships, what would be the pros and cons of transitioning back to a two-stage CLF concept of operations…

Do you anticipate that our current approach to sustaining underway forces will need to change in a highly contested environment?

Long term stability, competition, and judicious procurement of economic order quantity material have been the key factors contributing to the significant savings provided by the Virginia-class submarines multi-year contracts.

If funding above the President's Budget (PB) were made available, would the Navy support and could the industrial base build an additional DDG if three are authorized in fiscal year 2016?

What will be the impact on the shipbuilders of building two variants of Virginia-class submarines concurrently?

Admiral Mulloy, will we have enough connectors?

Admiral Mulloy, last week Marine Corps leaders provided testimony before this subcommittee on Marine Corps ground modernization.

Of course, I've been intensely curious why we needed to change things like arresting gear and aircraft launching that have been tested and proven over many years to be reliable, as far as information I have.

I think it's pretty obvious that, when there's no competition, there's no cost control.

You are totally confident that the next-generation, next-production aircraft carrier, that the cost will be under control.

Then does it make sense to stop procurement of the existing Tomahawk missile?

The reliability of four systems...are most significant risk to the USS Gerald R. Ford initial operation, test, and evaluation.

You will not find a more passionate advocate against the foolishness of sequester than Chairman McCain.

Removal of these restrictions will allow us to move forward on this essential component of our rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region.

I just wanted to mention one other issue very briefly. The Portuguese are our great friends...

I asked Secretary Carter, in his nomination hearing. He said, 'I am inclined in the direction of providing them with arms.'

Russian aggression is clearly visible in its illegal occupation of Crimea and its continued operations in eastern Ukraine.

The hope remains that both parties will fully implement an effective cease-fire as an important step towards an acceptable political resolution.

We're going to have this fight again on sequestration, ongoing. And members of this committee are dedicated to the proposition that we have to repeal sequestration.

I think that, in general, over time, the capabilities of the PLA--the PRC--will vastly eclipse what the Taiwanese could produce on their own.

Iran has built its robust nuclear infrastructure and advanced its ballistic missile systems with materials that have passed through PACOM AOR.

Our top concern, as both of you have mentioned, is a revanchist Russia.

Assisting Ukraine to deter attack and defend itself is not inconsistent with the search for a peaceful political solution.