Don Bacon Asks How Long It Would Take A Chinese Hypersonic Rocket To Reach The United States

12 hours ago

During Tuesday's House Armed Services Committee hearing, Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) asked General Gregory M. Guillot how long it would take a Chinese hypersonic rocket to reach the United States when launched.

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Transcript

00:00Mr. Bacon.

00:01Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

00:02I'm on the right side over here, or your left.

00:05Thank you for being here.

00:06And I got to brag, I did serve with a Colonel, Gio, back in the day.

00:10We both got to command the greatest wing in the United States Air Force, the 55th Wing.

00:14My first question is to General Gio.

00:17Tracking hypersonics is a big concern for many of us.

00:19I know for you as well.

00:20Can you talk about the challenges of tracking hypersonics and also what is the time from

00:27if it's a hypersonics launch in China, how long could it reach the continental United

00:31States?

00:32Congressman, and I share the shout out for the fight in 55th, and thank you for that.

00:40Hypersonics are very destabilizing.

00:42They're a tremendous challenge to us because they start off in a ballistic, often in a

00:46ballistic manner, which is very easy to predict where they're going to eventually impact.

00:52But because of their speed and their maneuverability, all that goes away once they enter the hypersonic

00:57and the glide portion of their profile.

01:02So I think it also, because the speed cuts down, the amount of time sometimes to as little

01:07as five minutes to detect, track, and predict where it's going to go.

01:11But because of the end game maneuverability that they have, really, we don't know until

01:15the very end where these could go because of the maneuverability.

01:20What kind of capabilities do you need to better track this?

01:23What should we be funding in Congress?

01:29The HBTSS, the Hypersonic Ballistic Tracking and Sensing System, is an extremely promising

01:37satellite-based capability to detect and track the hypersonics through the regimes that I

01:42just described.

01:44And then I think that we're going to have to increase our commitment to defeat mechanisms,

01:50which are challenged for the same reasons that I just mentioned, the maneuverability

01:54and the speed.

01:55We have some great defeat mechanisms, but they aren't geared towards the speed and maneuverability

01:59that hypersonics bring.

02:01Sounds like a good priority for us to work on.

02:04We would appreciate it.

02:05Yes, sir.

02:06CJEDC2 and AI and those growing importance for your air defense command and control.

02:10Can you talk a little bit about the importance of the MAVEN Smart System?

02:14Congressman, MAVEN Smart System has become the staple for our joint all-domain command

02:20and control system, because it not only presents a picture of the battle space in multiple

02:26domains.

02:28Most systems show one domain or another, but you can get all domains in MAVEN Smart System.

02:33And the increasing number of layers, live layers of live data that can be brought in,

02:38everything from undersea through space sensors displayed at the same time.

02:42So it's a staple to both NORAD and NORTHCOM, and I see it growing in the future.

02:48General Geo, what's the biggest gap that you have for the counter-drug mission, and

02:53what can Congress be doing to help you?

02:55Congressman, I think the biggest gap remains assets.

03:00We have to be consistent, present, and engaged, and have a consistent presence on the waters,

03:05in the air, to deter and interdict.

03:07So I think from an air standpoint, maritime standpoint, and ISR, all is very critical

03:12to the mission.

03:15I want to follow up on a question that General Geo got earlier about cyber.

03:18I appreciate you talking about it's not just ballistic missile threat or hypersonic, it's

03:22also cyber.

03:23And you've got to work with Cyber Command and CISA, which is, there's a seam there,

03:28we're trying to close those seams.

03:30Are there any additional authorities that you need to work with Cyber Command and CISA?

03:35Sir, I think we have the authorities that we need, and I should point out the FBI is

03:39very active as well in our cyber defense.

03:42Having those organizations resident in our headquarters is helpful, frequent talks with

03:47General Hawk, sometimes weekly, on the threat.

03:52And every time I ask him if he can take action, he has had the authorities necessary to do

03:57that on our behalf.

03:59So I don't have any authority requests at this time for the cyber domain.

04:03One last question with my final minute.

04:05I've worked in NATO, I've worked with the Canadians, I've worked with the Danes, and

04:11I'm concerned about some of the comments that, these are our allies, and so, as a traditional

04:17Republican, I hate to see the friction with our allies.

04:20Are you seeing any of those frictions at all at NORAD or NORTHCOM?

04:26Congressman, as you know, in NORAD we have several hundred Canadians that work side with

04:31us as well as at the installations.

04:33At the military-to-military relationship level, we have zero problems or concerns.

04:40Everybody's focused on defending our continent, and I'm real proud of the effort that they're

04:45putting into it.

04:47Good to hear.

04:48Mr. Chairman, I yield back.

Don Bacon Asks How Long It Would Take A Chinese Hypersonic Rocket To Reach The United States

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