Wicker, Roger F.: To order, I have an opening statement, which I will submit for the record without objection. Senator Reed.
Reed, Jack: Mr. Chairman, I, too, will submit my opening statement for the record so that we can begin the hearing.
Wicker, Roger F.: And so now we begin with our witnesses. Let's, Lieutenant, and just for, for our witnesses ... ...hearing earlier, and that has been recessed. Now we're in open session. And, Lieutenant General Whitney, we're going to recognize you for ...
Steven P. Whitney: ... for the opportunity today to appear before you as the Joint Staff's representative on this important topic of low-cost and developmental munitions. I'd also like to thank this committee and all of the Congress for your continued support of the Department and our Joint Force. On the Joint Staff, I oversee the Force Structure Resources and Assessment Directorate, affectionately known as J8. We support the Chairman, the Vice Chairman, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff to enable them to provide their military advice to our civilian leaders. ... cost and developmental munitions, which we did cover in that preceding classified session. While not going into the details we covered in this open hearing, there is one point I'd like to reemphasize. Low-cost and developmental munitions can complement traditional munitions in our arsenal, and we call this a high-low mix. And to be perfectly clear, both are needed. Thank you again for ... ... the record, and I stand ready with my service colleagues to answer any questions we can in this forum.
Wicker, Roger F.: Well, thank you very much. Without objection, that statement be added to the record. Admiral Okano.
Elizabeth Okano: Chairman Wicker, Ranking Member Reed, and distinguished members of the committee, good morning. The Department of the Navy is executing a fundamental shift in how we arm the fleet. To compete and win in an era of strategic ... ... we need deeper magazines, and we need them now. The initial focus of our efforts is strike munitions. As we continue to roll out the strategy, we'll expand this framework to other efforts that will lead to a more capable, resilient, and lethal force ready to meet the challenges of the 21st century battlefields. Our strategy is built on a three-phased approach to ensure stability, foster innovation, and optimize our production capabilities, balancing robust collaboration with our industry partners with this firm accountability to ensure the best value for the taxpayer and the highest readiness of our warfighters. First, we stabilize the foundation of our industrial base. We assessed our most critical production lines, like the Tomahawk and Standard Missile 6, and worked with our prime contractors to ensure they can meet demand. We will provide them with stable, multi-year demand signals, but in return we will demand that they invest their own capital to expand capacity. This approach is backed by significant investment. The 2026 Appropriations Act provided $1.16 billion for the Tomahawk and $1.421 billion for the Standard Missile family. These funds are powerfully supplemented by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act,...