Uniformed Air Force and Navy officers will join senior Pentagon officials today in the Senate for a hearing on nuclear weapons policy, programs, and strategy.
The hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee strategic forces subcommittee is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Eastern time.
Invited witnesses are:
- Guy Roberts, assistant secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical, and biological defense programs.
- Robert Soofer, deputy assistant secretary of defense for nuclear and missile defense policy.
- Gen. Robin Rand, Commander of Air Force Global Strike Command.
- Vice Adm. Terry Benedict, director of strategic systems programs for the U.S. Navy.
Roberts, by virtue of his position, is the staff director for the Nuclear Weapons Council: the joint Pentagon-Department of Energy group that coordinates the nation’s military and civilian weapons procurements and activities.
The council is now honing its requirements for the new low-yield, submarine-launched ballistic missile warhead called for in the Nuclear Posture Review the Pentagon released in February. As part of the process, the group will visit key weapons facilities run by DOE’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Earlier this year, Roberts said he hoped to kick off these field trips in April.
The NNSA has said the warhead will be a modified version of the W76 warhead that currently tips Trident II D5 missiles carried by Ohio-class submarines. The agency has yet to seek funding for the modification, as even design work for the new-old warhead requires congressional authorization.
