WEBVTT

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OK , good morning . Uh , looks like I

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have a little extra time , so I figure

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we deep dive into some directed energy

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innards and talk about how we're

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working on fluids and radiance and all

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that good stuff . And those who know me

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know I'm absolutely kidding because I

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know a lot of the big words , but I

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would get them in the wrong order and

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my team would probably shoot me . so

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still should be able to keep us , keep

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us on time this morning . Appreciate .

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Everybody being here , uh , big shout

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out to the SMD symposium team , uh , as

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usual , do a tremendous job , you know ,

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for Mica , the team , and , and those

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who don't know , it , it's like a rock

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concert , you know , set up in the back ,

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uh , the folks working this , making

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sure the audio visual works , all the

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vendors here , um , quite frankly ,

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this is the fav my favorite personal

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favorite symposium , uh , that I , that

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I get to go to every year . Some might

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think that's because I actually get to

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sleep in my own bed and take a short 10

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minute drive over here to the venue and ,

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and absolutely that that's a factor ,

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but it's not the sole determining

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factor . Some might also think that

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it's because my favorite industry booth

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that was here last year and those who

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were here last year I don't remember me

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mentioning it , but they're here again

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this year . Uh , and I could say that

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the name of the vendor PPT . Some of

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you may know what I'm talking about ,

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some may not . Those that don't , I'll

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describe a little bit more . So as

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you're here in the concert hall and

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we're all moving back and forth

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throughout the day , um , from , from

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here , there's the little venue area

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over here to my right , where they've

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got some industry booths in there and

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then we all know where the . The Hall

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is where the tall ceilings are and some

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of the larger booths and if you're

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walking back and forth , you have

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really two options . You can either

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take the hallway over to the other or

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you should do what I do is kind of take

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that shortcut , you know , the nearest ,

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you know , the easiest way to get

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between two points is to take that

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shortcut and cut that corner off , and

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that takes you into the smaller area .

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And very strategically placed as you

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walk by , uh , walk through that area

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is the PPT booth . And those of you who

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still don't know what I'm talking about ,

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I'll just say the word popcorn . All

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right . Big shout out . they brought

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the popcorn again this year and quite

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frankly , when you don't have time for

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lunch , that's about the best nutrition

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you can get . They always have smiles .

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They're great . The lawyers right now

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are cringing because they think I'm

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advocating for a company , which isn't

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the case , but I will absolutely

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advocate for the quality of popcorn

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that they serve , and I have no idea

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where it comes from , but a great . and

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a great job by the team who sets the

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symposium up and allows them that

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corner . I frequented it several times

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last year and I know I would do the

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same this year . I also want to give a

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big thanks to whoever coined the theme

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for this year , space and missile

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defense defending home and abroad . It

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should not be lost . On any of us , the

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interconnectedness of those teams and

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certainly we've always talked space and

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missile defense , you know , we

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conveniently throw air defense in there

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as well , but we've talked about , you

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know , defending the homeland , and we

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talked about defending abroad , but we

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often don't talk about them , you know ,

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in the same sentence like they're two

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different sets of , of equipment . Um ,

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and I think that's changed and , and if

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you haven't read the news , and I know

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everybody in here has learned and we do

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keep up with the news , the leadership

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within the Department of Defense , you

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know , and the Army , they've been

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speaking very actively on this topic

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for some time now , and and that

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discussion was ongoing even before we

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saw what can happen with a small group

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of drones are smuggled into Russia . Uh ,

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and the devastating impacts that it can

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have on , on infrastructure and

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military power . And they were speaking

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of it well before we saw what happened

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when those same type of drones were

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smuggled into Iran and taking out key

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infrastructure . So bottom line is that

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threat is here today , and so as we

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talk about the home defending the home

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and think about those constructs , we

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should also be thinking about the same

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types of capabilities that we need to

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defend abroad . So we identified the

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threat both home and abroad . We know

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that it is greater than it has ever

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been . It is more available than it's

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ever been . It is cheaper than it's

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ever been , and we cannot afford to be

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complacent about it . Unfortunately ,

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our country , our nation . Has a

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history of being slow to rise to anger ,

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and usually it takes some activity ,

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some moment that brings us to the point

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of action and I believe that we must

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absolutely must address this compelling

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threat before it becomes an

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issue . We can't have our own crucible

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moment here in the nation and then look

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at each other and wonder why we didn't

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do anything about it . So with that

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being said , I , I will say and and

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address our industry partners that are

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here today , uh , I believe you have

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opportunities in this space . Some

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might even consider them golden

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opportunities in this space , um , to ,

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to pay attention on , on what's going

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on . I don't think I've stepped over

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any line there , um .

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But look , I've been , I've been on the

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procuring side of systems for our army

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really talking about defending abroad

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for a long time , and I know with the

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requirements that we put in place to

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help defend our soldiers , our war

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fighters , and all parts of the world ,

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we pay a premium for the expeditionary

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nature of the equipment that we procure .

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Uh , so when we buy equipment normally

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that's going to go and who knows where

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we put in requirements to ensure that

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we can deploy that equipment in the

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smallest package possible , uh ,

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anywhere in the world , usually

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measured in the size of the aircraft

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that we can put it on . We put

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requirements there to make sure that it

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can work in any conditions from the

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coldest parts of the globe to the

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hottest parts of the globe . Um , we

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make sure that it can work in the

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highest altitudes , and I'm usually

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talking about generators and gen power ,

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uh , in , in those environments to the

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lowest parts of the globe , and we test

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it from the driest air to the most

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humid air . So if I were in industry ,

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uh , I would be sitting in the back

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room and I would be looking at all the

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kit that we've been selling to the army

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for a long time that has a lot of extra

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requirements that may not be required

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for this new mission set , and I would

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be analyzing that equipment from the

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from the perspective of where can I

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make trades . Where can I make trades

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within the equipment that we build now

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for our soldiers to allow it to be

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cheaper and deliver it faster to meet

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this new mission threat ? And Rob

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Rash's personal belief , if you're not

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thinking about those types of things ,

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you're missing opportunities . The cost

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to do what we need to do to defend the

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homeland is going to be tremendous . We

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need some help here . So help us figure

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out where those , where those trades

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can be chart . So

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this is our chief , we all , we all

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know , General George , and he is

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driving momentum and trust me when I

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say nothing drives drives momentum more

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than pressure from the top and our

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chief of staff in the army is clearly

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driving us to get better and to do it

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faster . Uh , this isn't just solely a

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material discussion , however , if you

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look at what the Army , uh , continuous

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transformation campaign is focused on ,

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it's not just material , it's

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organizational constructs . It's our

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doctrine . It's our tactics , technique ,

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technique . and procedures and it's how

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we train so that we can integrate

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technologies faster , not through

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traditional evolutionary change , but

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we have a generational leap we have to

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make with technology and get them

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integrated . So this is a whole of army

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activity and our army leaders have

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shown the willingness to underwrite the

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risk of trying to take such a

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mockumental change and how we do things

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different , and their ability and

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willingness to do that helps make this

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achievable . Fortunately for me anyway ,

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I have the best job in the army and

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that I have an opportunity to lead an

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organization , the Rapid Capabilities

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Critical Technologies Office , that at

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its onset from the material perspective

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was given authorities to help expedite

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this leap ahead capabilities . And if

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you think back . that over the last 6

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years , and you look at the onset of

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this organization , what it was asked

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to do , the construct that was kind of

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the backdrop of of Rito , hey , let's

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expand the authorities . Let's

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underwrite the list , the risk ,

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underwrite the risk with senior leader

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backing . We can go faster . When RICO

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was stood up in 2019 , 3 primary

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strategic initiative tasks first long

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range hypersonic weapons , and I'm

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going to talk a little bit more in

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detail about what's been going on there

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in a minute , but a little over 5 years

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to take that capability to to fruition .

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Medium range capability that was the

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Army's round launchers to support two

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of the Navy two of the Navy missiles .

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Um , that was fielded in 3 years to our

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army , and I've been reading about that

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system for the past 2 years as Indo

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Paycom has been campaigning with that

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capability , getting in the decision

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space of our potential adversaries . So

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we can go faster , we can get kicked to

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the field . And then finally directed

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energy systems , and I'll talk a lot

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more on that when we get to it . I

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absolutely appreciate General Stewart's

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comments and agree 100% with where we

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are on that , but I'll talk a little

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bit about our path ahead and what we've

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learned . But across a whole variety of

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technology types , including high

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energy lasers , high power microwaves ,

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getting prototypes , getting them in

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the soldiers' hands , fielding and

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testing those bothonus and Oconus , for

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operational assessments , that's where

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the learning has occurred . And our

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leaders , our army senior leaders have

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given us some really tough mission sets ,

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mission sets that had been sitting back .

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They weren't completely new ideas .

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We've been doing directed energy , you

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know , science and technology efforts ,

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and SNPC has done an incredible job in

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advancing that science and technology ,

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but getting them hardened into

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prototypes at a scale of a formation

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level is something we Haven't achieved

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before . Hypersonics the same way .

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We've been looking at the problem a

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long time , but getting that out to the

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field for the soldiers to begin using

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it to assess operational applicability

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is something that we haven't been able

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to do . But with the authorities given

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and the leaders backing with our

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industry partners in hand and really an

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incredible team , the Richter

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organization continues to respond .

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Next . So

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Imagine a coordinated attack , and it

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shouldn't be hard to imagine , you see

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them all the time on TV , but , but

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imagine a coordinated attack with a ,

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with a raid , you know , a large raid

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of incoming missiles . But those

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missiles preceded by a cascade of

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cyberattacks getting after our

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infrastructure , going after our

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communications , going after our power ,

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and at the same time counter space

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capabilities trying to blind our

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satellites and all of you know that

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this isn't science fiction . I mean

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this group . More so than any others

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know that this isn't science fiction

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movie . This is the reality that we as

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a community , as a department of

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defense and an enabled industry team

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must be preparing for several every

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single day , whether we're talking

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homeland here . Whether we're talking

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homeland on a small island of Guam in

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the western Pacific or whether we're

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talking the host nations where we send

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soldiers and sailors and airmen and

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guardians every single day , this is

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the reality that we have to deal with

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and I believe we have as a community

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accepted the fact that both domain

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attacks are the way of the future .

11:49.589 --> 11:51.589
That's the new normal and it should

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have been a surprise to us . I mean ,

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hell , we have been preparing to

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conduct executions that way for years .

11:57.756 --> 11:59.534
Why would we ever assume that a

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determined potential adversary isn't

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thinking about the problem the same way ?

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China continues to rapidly advance

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their military modernization activities

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primarily in space as well as

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hypersonic weapons technology , and

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they have stated their intent to

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challenge US dominance , and I believe

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that requires a proactive , not a

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reactive response from the United

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States . I'm not saying we're at war ,

12:25.877 --> 12:27.979
we are not a war . But we should

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absolutely be preparing for that every

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single day like we are . And those who

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have been around for a while know the

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difference , you know the feeling , and

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I don't think we're quite there yet .

12:38.884 --> 12:38.840
We've got to continue to pick up the

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pace and get a sense of urgency .

12:41.869 --> 12:43.536
Ukraine underscores the vital

12:43.536 --> 12:45.425
importance of both supporting our

12:45.425 --> 12:47.758
allies and deterring further aggression ,

12:47.758 --> 12:49.647
and the lessons learned from that

12:49.647 --> 12:51.758
conflict are absolutely informing our

12:51.758 --> 12:53.647
modernization efforts . So it's a

12:53.647 --> 12:55.647
bottom line team complacency has no

12:55.647 --> 12:57.869
place in how we're doing business now .

12:57.989 --> 12:59.822
We have to innovate . We have to

12:59.822 --> 13:01.989
transform our army , and we have to do

13:01.989 --> 13:04.100
it quicker than we ever have before .

13:04.100 --> 13:07.159
Next please . So

13:07.979 --> 13:09.868
as mentioned before , the Army is

13:09.868 --> 13:11.535
fundamentally changing . Army

13:11.535 --> 13:13.859
continuous transformation campaign is

13:13.859 --> 13:16.340
underway . Several of those efforts

13:16.340 --> 13:18.507
touch things other than material , but

13:18.507 --> 13:20.284
several of them do touch in the

13:20.284 --> 13:22.396
material domain , and I'm sure you've

13:22.396 --> 13:24.562
heard most of them . First , divesting

13:24.562 --> 13:26.396
from systems that are outdated ,

13:26.396 --> 13:28.618
redundant , or considered ineffective .

13:29.250 --> 13:31.139
It makes sense . When you're in a

13:31.139 --> 13:33.417
relatively flat budget , you need cash .

13:33.417 --> 13:35.139
You need cash to invest in new

13:35.139 --> 13:37.361
technologies . How do you do that ? You

13:37.361 --> 13:39.583
invest in , uh , you divest from things

13:39.583 --> 13:41.528
that are outdated , redundant , or

13:41.528 --> 13:43.849
considered in today's army , uh , and

13:43.849 --> 13:46.460
effective . We are prioritizing long

13:46.460 --> 13:48.940
range fires , and a lot of the things

13:48.940 --> 13:51.140
that you will hear or have heard from

13:51.140 --> 13:53.251
PO missiles in space , the activities

13:53.251 --> 13:55.500
they're doing emphasizes that continued

13:55.500 --> 13:57.739
priority from our Army senior leaders .

13:57.900 --> 14:00.011
It started as the number one priority

14:00.011 --> 14:02.289
when Army Futures Command first set up ,

14:02.289 --> 14:04.511
and it hasn't changed since then . Cost

14:04.511 --> 14:06.909
effective counter counter small UAS

14:06.909 --> 14:09.280
technologies integrated into our

14:09.280 --> 14:11.320
formations and scale is a , is a

14:11.320 --> 14:13.487
priority effort and uh General Stewart

14:13.487 --> 14:15.719
and team at the JCO have been trying to

14:15.719 --> 14:18.880
push not just the army , but all of EOD

14:18.880 --> 14:20.991
further ahead in that area . And then

14:20.991 --> 14:22.713
finally integrating artificial

14:22.713 --> 14:24.602
intelligence into our command and

14:24.602 --> 14:26.769
control systems in order to accelerate

14:26.769 --> 14:28.824
decision making . And we are just at

14:28.824 --> 14:31.140
the beginning cusp of that , but if you

14:31.140 --> 14:33.196
think about what it can do for us in

14:33.196 --> 14:35.362
the long term , we've got to get there

14:35.362 --> 14:37.919
quicker . Luckily , uh , the charter

14:37.919 --> 14:41.400
that I operate within , within RICO is

14:41.400 --> 14:44.200
absolutely aligned to those priorities

14:44.200 --> 14:47.559
and others with the unique authorities

14:47.559 --> 14:49.115
that have been given to RAI

14:49.115 --> 14:51.479
capabilities and Critical Technologies

14:51.479 --> 14:54.440
Office to support this campaign , and I

14:54.440 --> 14:56.909
often get asked , not just within

14:57.320 --> 14:59.209
within the army , not just within

14:59.209 --> 15:00.931
industry , even within foreign

15:00.931 --> 15:02.987
countries , hey , what's the magic ?

15:02.987 --> 15:05.390
How does RICO . How are you able to do

15:05.390 --> 15:07.390
the things that you do ? What's the

15:07.390 --> 15:09.279
special sauce ? And of course the

15:09.279 --> 15:11.334
conversation immediately starts with

15:11.334 --> 15:13.390
authorities . Expedited requirements

15:13.390 --> 15:15.557
from my board of directors . Who is my

15:15.557 --> 15:17.779
board of directors ? It starts with the

15:17.779 --> 15:19.723
secretary . The next person is the

15:19.723 --> 15:21.946
chief , and then you got the vice , you

15:21.946 --> 15:24.057
got the under , you got the ASA , you

15:24.057 --> 15:26.057
have the AFC commanding general . 6

15:26.057 --> 15:28.223
individuals give us our requirements .

15:28.223 --> 15:30.223
So think about the time saved . Not

15:30.223 --> 15:32.168
saying our requirements process is

15:32.168 --> 15:34.279
broken , but if you want to go fast ,

15:34.279 --> 15:36.501
doing bottom up vetting of requirements

15:36.501 --> 15:38.557
takes time . It doesn't take as long

15:38.557 --> 15:38.010
when you're sitting across from the

15:38.010 --> 15:40.288
secretary and the chief , and they say ,

15:40.288 --> 15:42.454
go do this . That that's pretty direct

15:42.454 --> 15:44.732
and it gives me all we need to execute .

15:45.380 --> 15:47.547
In-house contracting authorities , you

15:47.547 --> 15:49.602
know , being able to award contracts

15:49.602 --> 15:51.658
with my own team , not having to get

15:51.658 --> 15:53.713
thrown in the process of contracting

15:53.713 --> 15:55.880
and competing with other priorities is

15:55.880 --> 15:58.520
absolutely an enabler . 60 days if we

15:58.520 --> 16:00.687
get pressed to award a contract if I .

16:00.780 --> 16:03.090
Resources we can do it in 60 days and

16:03.090 --> 16:05.201
we've proven that time and time again

16:05.609 --> 16:07.849
and our ACC teams are doing incredible

16:07.849 --> 16:09.849
jobs for the bigger army , but when

16:09.849 --> 16:11.905
something's important enough for the

16:11.905 --> 16:13.960
chief of staff or secretary say it's

16:13.960 --> 16:16.016
got to be done now , we've got to be

16:16.016 --> 16:15.330
able to move faster and those

16:15.330 --> 16:18.239
authorities are helping . Direct hiring

16:18.239 --> 16:20.017
authority . Uh , so some of the

16:20.017 --> 16:22.183
technologies I'll talk about today are

16:22.183 --> 16:24.350
kind of in the missile arena . Some of

16:24.350 --> 16:26.461
them are kind of outside that arena .

16:26.461 --> 16:25.919
You wonder , well , how , how do you

16:25.919 --> 16:27.586
get , how do you have a small

16:27.586 --> 16:29.808
organization that has the capability to

16:29.808 --> 16:31.975
expand across those areas ? I have the

16:31.975 --> 16:34.030
ability to go out and hire them . If

16:34.030 --> 16:35.975
there's a new thing , if it's it's

16:35.975 --> 16:38.141
quantum computing , if it's it's a new

16:38.141 --> 16:39.975
technology and we don't have the

16:39.975 --> 16:42.141
in-house subject matter expertise , we

16:42.141 --> 16:44.308
will go get them . We will go and find

16:44.308 --> 16:46.475
the best we can afford . We will bring

16:46.475 --> 16:46.080
them on the team . We will pair them

16:46.080 --> 16:48.413
with seasoned acquisition professionals .

16:48.413 --> 16:50.191
We will give them an impossible

16:50.191 --> 16:52.358
timeline , a limited amount of money ,

16:52.358 --> 16:54.191
and send them on their way , and

16:54.191 --> 16:56.358
they'll be off to work that as quickly

16:56.358 --> 16:58.191
and diligently as they can . And

16:58.191 --> 17:00.247
finally , and my favorite one of the

17:00.247 --> 17:02.729
authorities is the ability to bypass

17:02.869 --> 17:05.630
unnecessary bureaucracy without having

17:05.630 --> 17:07.686
to ask permission if it's within the

17:07.686 --> 17:09.741
army , if it's an army policy , army

17:09.741 --> 17:11.908
regulation , and it gets in the way of

17:11.908 --> 17:14.241
meeting the Secretary or Chief's intent ,

17:14.241 --> 17:16.750
it's do it now , document it , give

17:16.750 --> 17:19.750
permission later , and we have used

17:19.750 --> 17:21.790
that and it's been very , very

17:21.790 --> 17:24.979
effective and again I'm not discounting

17:24.979 --> 17:27.994
the purpose . bureaucracy right we have

17:27.994 --> 17:30.050
it for a reason . Somewhere down the

17:30.050 --> 17:32.216
line , somebody made a mistake , so we

17:32.216 --> 17:34.438
put a policy in place to keep everybody

17:34.438 --> 17:36.494
from making that mistake again , but

17:36.494 --> 17:39.354
that that policy now requires time to

17:39.354 --> 17:41.194
get to work the work through the

17:41.194 --> 17:44.194
process of getting past it . We've been

17:44.194 --> 17:46.194
given the authority of Rito that if

17:46.194 --> 17:48.416
it's just not it's not relevant to what

17:48.416 --> 17:51.314
you're doing , don't do it and I love

17:51.314 --> 17:53.536
that . I don't love making people mad ,

17:53.536 --> 17:55.758
but , but I think that's one of the key

17:55.758 --> 17:57.814
enablers . But those authorities are

17:57.814 --> 18:00.036
just part of the of the special sauce ,

18:00.036 --> 18:02.203
and I don't think they are the special

18:02.203 --> 18:04.147
sauce . I think also having senior

18:04.147 --> 18:06.258
leaders who are willing to underwrite

18:06.258 --> 18:08.425
the risk of going fast because there's

18:08.425 --> 18:10.425
no special acquisition dust you can

18:10.425 --> 18:12.589
make to do something fast , it's all

18:12.589 --> 18:14.756
about assuming more risk . If you take

18:14.756 --> 18:16.867
a typical 5 year EMP schedule and you

18:16.867 --> 18:19.089
squeeze it down to 2 years , you're not

18:19.089 --> 18:21.579
doing something . And you're building

18:21.579 --> 18:23.523
up risk . You're making calculated

18:23.523 --> 18:25.579
risks again , not with novices , but

18:25.579 --> 18:27.523
with seasoned experts to determine

18:27.523 --> 18:29.690
where can we assume risk here to allow

18:29.690 --> 18:32.060
us to reach the objective sooner . But

18:32.060 --> 18:34.116
having senior leaders who understand

18:34.116 --> 18:36.338
that and are willing to underwrite that

18:36.338 --> 18:38.504
risk makes all the difference . It can

18:38.504 --> 18:40.282
shave years off the traditional

18:40.282 --> 18:42.393
timelines to actually get operational

18:42.393 --> 18:44.227
prototypes into the hands of our

18:44.227 --> 18:46.449
soldiers . But all that being said , to

18:46.449 --> 18:48.989
me , having had the privilege and honor

18:48.989 --> 18:51.310
of experiencing this for 3 years , the

18:51.310 --> 18:53.430
true special sauce , the magic

18:53.430 --> 18:55.900
ingredient of richto , is the people

18:56.510 --> 18:58.979
having the ability to bring on a group

18:58.979 --> 19:01.630
of like-minded professionals and what

19:01.630 --> 19:04.339
they do . And and by by say like-minded ,

19:04.550 --> 19:06.383
I would say , look , look at the

19:06.383 --> 19:08.439
organizational chart up here and you

19:08.439 --> 19:10.383
see the note to the left , it says

19:10.383 --> 19:13.699
current organizational structure . And

19:13.699 --> 19:15.921
I'm not even sure if it's current as of

19:15.921 --> 19:17.810
today because this organizational

19:17.810 --> 19:19.977
structure changes frequently . And the

19:19.977 --> 19:22.199
team members who operate on that may be

19:22.199 --> 19:24.310
doing one mission today and are moved

19:24.310 --> 19:26.199
to another mission tomorrow . Our

19:26.199 --> 19:28.032
contracting teams , our business

19:28.032 --> 19:30.349
management teams flexible in doing what

19:30.349 --> 19:32.405
needs to be done and quite frankly ,

19:32.405 --> 19:34.182
frankly they don't care if it's

19:34.182 --> 19:36.405
different . It's in the same functional

19:36.405 --> 19:38.516
area of what they were doing before .

19:38.516 --> 19:37.939
I'm just doing it for a different

19:37.939 --> 19:40.161
effort . Fine , I don't have to rewrite

19:40.161 --> 19:42.328
the position descriptions , but Having

19:42.328 --> 19:44.439
a team of folks like that to hear the

19:44.439 --> 19:46.606
sound of the battle and run towards it

19:46.606 --> 19:48.717
and will not accept , I can't do that

19:48.717 --> 19:51.050
for an answer . That's the kind of team ,

19:51.050 --> 19:52.995
and that is absolutely the special

19:52.995 --> 19:54.939
sauce . If you couldn't tell , I'm

19:54.939 --> 19:56.939
pretty proud of that team , and I'm

19:56.939 --> 19:58.772
going to spend the remaining few

19:58.772 --> 20:00.828
minutes I have to talk about some of

20:00.828 --> 20:03.050
the things that they've been up to over

20:03.050 --> 20:06.930
the last year or so . Next please . So

20:06.930 --> 20:09.170
long range hypersonic weapons , um , if

20:09.170 --> 20:11.849
you look up the word perseverance in

20:11.849 --> 20:13.930
the dictionary , it ought to have a

20:13.930 --> 20:16.560
picture of this , uh , of this team .

20:16.609 --> 20:18.831
The Army's long range hypersonic weapon

20:18.831 --> 20:20.942
team , the Navy's conventional prompt

20:20.942 --> 20:23.130
strike strike team , our industry

20:23.130 --> 20:25.241
partners who worked hand in hand . In

20:25.241 --> 20:26.908
the most unique collaborative

20:26.908 --> 20:28.852
environment that I've seen and our

20:28.852 --> 20:30.852
national labs that all pitched into

20:30.852 --> 20:33.310
this , they were very well , very well

20:33.310 --> 20:35.709
aware of a lot of the press from about

20:35.709 --> 20:37.598
2 years ago where there were some

20:37.598 --> 20:39.765
challenges as we were out on the range

20:39.765 --> 20:42.430
getting this systems under tests , but

20:42.430 --> 20:44.770
they persevered . Nobody felt that

20:44.770 --> 20:46.714
pressure more than them , but they

20:46.714 --> 20:48.810
never gave up , and it was never an

20:48.810 --> 20:50.699
issue . As we reached the no test

20:50.699 --> 20:52.699
events , it was very quickly , OK ,

20:52.699 --> 20:55.089
what happened ? How do we fix it ? How

20:55.089 --> 20:57.256
do we validate , we fix it ? How do we

20:57.256 --> 20:59.256
get it back out to the range to try

20:59.256 --> 21:01.367
again . And over the past year , that

21:01.367 --> 21:03.829
hard work paid off . 3 successful all

21:03.829 --> 21:06.329
up round tests combined with the army

21:06.329 --> 21:07.885
and the navy testing . Um ,

21:08.619 --> 21:10.730
demonstrating this capability that it

21:10.730 --> 21:12.841
works , and we continue to learn even

21:12.841 --> 21:15.063
with successful tests . You continue to

21:15.063 --> 21:17.063
learn , you continue to update your

21:17.063 --> 21:18.952
models , you continue to baseline

21:18.952 --> 21:20.897
performance and make sure we truly

21:20.897 --> 21:22.952
understand how the design that looks

21:22.952 --> 21:25.175
good on paper , that looks good in your

21:25.175 --> 21:27.175
in your systems engineering process

21:27.175 --> 21:29.459
actually performs . So kudos out to

21:29.459 --> 21:31.689
that incredible team . Um , but I'm

21:31.689 --> 21:33.911
aware , uh , sometimes when you're down

21:33.911 --> 21:35.689
in it , you see things a little

21:35.689 --> 21:37.856
different from the outside . It's easy

21:37.856 --> 21:39.856
to look and say , hey , um , we had

21:39.856 --> 21:41.967
some challenges on that program , and

21:41.967 --> 21:43.967
it wasn't Ricko supposed to deliver

21:43.967 --> 21:45.911
that in 4 years , um , and we just

21:45.911 --> 21:48.022
heard General Rash say it's , it , it

21:48.022 --> 21:50.133
took over 5 years to prove that out .

21:50.133 --> 21:52.300
So that's a 20% delay in the program .

21:52.569 --> 21:55.530
I would ask you to take a step back and

21:55.530 --> 21:57.697
look historically on how long it takes

21:57.697 --> 21:59.919
to get kit like this out in the field .

22:00.079 --> 22:03.239
Missile programs , it's no big deal if

22:03.239 --> 22:05.630
a missile , a missile , just a missile

22:05.630 --> 22:08.349
takes 10 years . That's kind of along

22:08.349 --> 22:10.719
the lines of the historical norm of

22:10.719 --> 22:13.439
developing a complex missile for an

22:13.439 --> 22:16.560
existing launcher to work , especially

22:16.560 --> 22:18.727
in support of air missile defense with

22:18.727 --> 22:20.893
the seekers , and this was a brand new

22:20.893 --> 22:23.116
missile that had never been built . But

22:23.116 --> 22:25.171
oh by the way , on top of that , you

22:25.171 --> 22:27.282
got to build a launcher . A brand new

22:27.282 --> 22:29.227
launcher with all the fire control

22:29.227 --> 22:28.660
equipment in there . You got to make

22:28.660 --> 22:31.020
sure that launcher can withstand the

22:31.020 --> 22:32.964
impacts which , quite frankly , we

22:32.964 --> 22:35.076
haven't fired missiles this size in a

22:35.076 --> 22:37.076
long time in the army , so a lot of

22:37.076 --> 22:39.187
dusting off the books and finding out

22:39.187 --> 22:41.353
how we did things in the good old days

22:41.353 --> 22:43.353
to make sure that we can apply that

22:43.353 --> 22:45.464
technology with the new technology to

22:45.464 --> 22:47.353
make this launcher happen , a new

22:47.353 --> 22:49.576
battery operation center that had never

22:49.576 --> 22:51.909
existed before and a digital kill chain .

22:52.339 --> 22:54.709
That was instrumented at the battery

22:54.709 --> 22:56.931
operation center level where that young

22:56.931 --> 22:58.987
soldier gets told to push the button

22:58.987 --> 23:01.260
traced all the way up to secure means

23:01.260 --> 23:03.520
to our highest national authorities

23:03.520 --> 23:05.742
where the release authority is for this

23:05.742 --> 23:07.909
munition . So in 5 years , a missile ,

23:08.140 --> 23:10.196
all that equipment , and the digital

23:10.196 --> 23:12.500
kill chain , not just fielded but

23:12.500 --> 23:14.689
trained and tested , is a pretty

23:14.689 --> 23:17.739
remarkable performance . Um , and again ,

23:17.819 --> 23:19.875
as you can tell , I'm , I'm pretty ,

23:19.875 --> 23:21.986
pretty proud of that team . But uh in

23:21.986 --> 23:24.540
richto fashion , we had a ceremony

23:24.859 --> 23:27.500
earlier this summer . I will say it's

23:27.500 --> 23:29.500
one of those bittersweet ceremonies

23:29.500 --> 23:31.722
that we talk about where I said goodbye

23:31.722 --> 23:33.944
and we say goodbye to that team because

23:33.944 --> 23:36.111
that's the way Rio operates . We don't

23:36.111 --> 23:38.278
gloat . We don't continue to grow when

23:38.278 --> 23:40.222
we finish a mission , we move that

23:40.222 --> 23:42.444
mission off either it works and it goes

23:42.444 --> 23:44.611
to a to a program somewhere , and they

23:44.611 --> 23:46.944
continue to do all the other ilities to .

23:46.944 --> 23:49.167
Sustain it and field it and buy more of

23:49.167 --> 23:51.500
it and do all that . If it doesn't work ,

23:51.500 --> 23:53.611
it goes back for another iteration of

23:53.611 --> 23:53.343
prototyping or it goes to the curve .

23:53.833 --> 23:56.152
But when we transition a program , not

23:56.152 --> 23:58.208
just the program transition , so the

23:58.208 --> 24:00.312
team transitions . So a lot of folks

24:00.312 --> 24:02.312
that have been part of Rickto for 5

24:02.312 --> 24:04.423
years since since its inception , you

24:04.423 --> 24:06.534
know , started off in over in the Von

24:06.534 --> 24:08.534
Braun Center where they had a small

24:08.534 --> 24:10.868
office , grew it into the 300 plus team .

24:10.868 --> 24:13.090
We said goodbye . The sent them over to

24:13.090 --> 24:15.256
PEO missiles in space so they can make

24:15.256 --> 24:17.479
sure that that program lands the way it

24:17.479 --> 24:19.534
should and grows the right routes to

24:19.534 --> 24:21.423
truly make it successful . So PEO

24:21.423 --> 24:23.534
missiles in space now owns long range

24:23.534 --> 24:25.423
hypersonic weapons . They own the

24:25.423 --> 24:27.645
program management responsibility , the

24:27.645 --> 24:29.868
sustainment , the additional fielding ,

24:29.868 --> 24:29.836
and the life cycle support , and I

24:29.836 --> 24:32.086
absolutely know General Lozano and team

24:32.086 --> 24:34.142
are going to take great care of that

24:34.142 --> 24:35.919
and ensuring we have this great

24:35.919 --> 24:38.086
capability for our nation . been a lot

24:38.086 --> 24:40.308
of talk about hypersonic missiles and a

24:40.308 --> 24:42.308
lot of folks out there , you know ,

24:42.308 --> 24:44.475
proposing hypersonic missiles . Um , I

24:44.475 --> 24:46.530
would say that this is a very unique

24:46.530 --> 24:48.753
capability . This is a significant leap

24:48.753 --> 24:50.808
forward for hypersonics , and it's a

24:50.808 --> 24:52.864
significant strategic capability for

24:52.864 --> 24:55.099
our nation it will hopefully serve as a

24:55.099 --> 24:58.260
deterrent for those who wish to

24:58.260 --> 25:00.739
threaten our strategic advantage . I

25:00.739 --> 25:02.628
talked a little bit earlier about

25:02.628 --> 25:04.628
senior leaders . I mentioned this a

25:04.628 --> 25:06.961
couple of times . For something to work ,

25:06.961 --> 25:06.859
for something to go fast , you've got

25:06.859 --> 25:09.081
to have senior leaders that are willing

25:09.081 --> 25:11.248
to underwrite the risk of going fast .

25:11.248 --> 25:13.303
And this is the program , Long range

25:13.303 --> 25:15.303
hypersonic weapons where that I was

25:15.303 --> 25:18.015
referring to uh when I said . A program

25:18.015 --> 25:20.237
like that at the speed it's moving with

25:20.237 --> 25:22.459
the technology , there's a lot lighting

25:22.459 --> 25:24.626
on just a few tests , and every one of

25:24.626 --> 25:26.848
those tests have the highest visibility

25:26.848 --> 25:28.915
all the way up out of OSD in the

25:28.915 --> 25:31.755
Pentagon across across the river over

25:31.755 --> 25:34.114
to Capitol Hill . And every time we had

25:34.114 --> 25:36.281
an event , it was myself , it was Vice

25:36.281 --> 25:38.392
Admiral Wolf , it was a small team of

25:38.392 --> 25:40.614
folks who had to make the trudge up and

25:40.614 --> 25:42.836
explain just what happened . And if you

25:42.836 --> 25:44.836
think historically , those would be

25:44.836 --> 25:46.947
conversations about , hey , should we

25:46.947 --> 25:49.170
kill this effort ? Is it too hard ? Can

25:49.170 --> 25:49.050
we not do it ? What else could we use

25:49.050 --> 25:51.410
this money for ? And I will say

25:51.410 --> 25:53.560
absolutely that never happened once .

25:53.729 --> 25:55.785
It never happened with any army . It

25:55.785 --> 25:57.896
never happened in the navy . It never

25:57.896 --> 26:00.229
happened at OSD , and believe it or not ,

26:00.229 --> 26:02.229
it never happened on Capitol Hill .

26:02.229 --> 26:04.285
Instead , it was , how can we help ?

26:04.285 --> 26:06.451
Where do you need our support and when

26:06.451 --> 26:08.673
can you get after the range and fix the

26:08.673 --> 26:10.729
thing that happened last time ? That

26:10.729 --> 26:12.951
kind of support typically we just don't

26:12.951 --> 26:15.173
see , but we're going to do in the army

26:15.173 --> 26:17.173
what we want to do , we're going to

26:17.173 --> 26:19.340
need to continue to rely on our senior

26:19.340 --> 26:21.340
leaders to help underwrite the risk

26:21.340 --> 26:23.396
that goes into into going fast , and

26:23.396 --> 26:25.118
that effort was definitely the

26:25.118 --> 26:27.199
collective enterprise willing long

26:27.199 --> 26:29.760
range hypersonic weapons into fruition .

26:30.849 --> 26:34.079
Nick . OK , directed energy , uh , one

26:34.079 --> 26:36.301
of my favorite topics I've learned more

26:36.301 --> 26:38.523
about optics and thermal protection and

26:38.523 --> 26:41.510
codes and and all that than I ever ,

26:41.560 --> 26:43.671
ever thought I would learn . The team

26:43.671 --> 26:45.782
tries to educate me and usually again

26:45.782 --> 26:47.893
they have to get me on the right path

26:47.893 --> 26:49.893
on putting the right words together

26:49.893 --> 26:49.839
where it actually makes scientific

26:49.839 --> 26:53.560
sense , but this team continues to work

26:53.560 --> 26:56.640
over a variety of technologies ranging

26:56.640 --> 26:59.280
from 10 kilowatt palletized high energy

26:59.280 --> 27:01.359
lasers up to 20 to 30 kilowatt .

27:01.503 --> 27:03.772
Systems mounted on infantry squad

27:03.772 --> 27:06.133
vehicles and GLTVs up to the 50

27:06.133 --> 27:08.873
kilowatt DM ride system and then 300

27:08.873 --> 27:11.772
kilowatt laser systems as well , as

27:11.772 --> 27:14.532
well as the high performance high power

27:14.532 --> 27:16.863
microwave technologies that we worked

27:16.932 --> 27:19.133
and we've yielded prototypes in every

27:19.133 --> 27:21.300
one of those arenas , and we've tested

27:21.300 --> 27:23.077
them , we've tested them on our

27:23.077 --> 27:25.189
instrumented ranges , and then at the

27:25.189 --> 27:27.189
request of leaders , we did what we

27:27.189 --> 27:29.300
didn't think we were going to have to

27:29.300 --> 27:28.932
do or that team did what we didn't

27:28.932 --> 27:30.876
think we had to do . We put them .

27:30.876 --> 27:32.988
Plains and we send them down range in

27:32.988 --> 27:35.210
harm's way to see how they would really

27:35.210 --> 27:37.265
work , put them at the pointy end of

27:37.265 --> 27:40.385
the spear . So in 24 2024 , we sent our

27:40.385 --> 27:43.456
four brand new shiny right off the line

27:43.456 --> 27:46.625
DEM Shora systems overseas in four

27:46.625 --> 27:48.736
month time period from when I went in

27:48.736 --> 27:50.847
to brief the chief and secretary that

27:50.847 --> 27:52.903
hey , you know , it was Secretary of

27:52.903 --> 27:55.125
Warmouth at the time , you know , sir ,

27:55.125 --> 27:55.015
ma'am , we just fielded this equipment

27:55.015 --> 27:57.786
to 460 out of Fort Sill and the

27:57.786 --> 28:01.489
direction was get them down range . 120

28:01.489 --> 28:03.650
days from that order to when we have

28:03.650 --> 28:06.290
soldiers on the ground with an

28:06.290 --> 28:09.130
approved DA process . So that's all the

28:09.130 --> 28:12.569
policy stuff to enable us to utilize

28:12.569 --> 28:14.780
directive energy systems , soldiers

28:14.780 --> 28:16.609
there , FSRs on the ground ,

28:16.729 --> 28:18.951
sustainment in place , and a collection

28:18.951 --> 28:21.930
plan on how we could collect data and

28:21.930 --> 28:24.041
collect the data for 9 months on that

28:24.041 --> 28:26.097
system . We turned around and we did

28:26.097 --> 28:27.819
the same thing with high power

28:27.819 --> 28:29.597
microwaves . In this case , the

28:29.597 --> 28:31.597
direction was , well , send some to

28:31.597 --> 28:33.597
endoecom and some to encom . So two

28:33.597 --> 28:35.819
different theaters which represent some

28:35.819 --> 28:37.763
of those hottest areas and some of

28:37.763 --> 28:39.819
those most humid areas that that you

28:39.819 --> 28:41.763
can sit in to really operationally

28:41.763 --> 28:43.708
characterize this kit in soldiers'

28:43.708 --> 28:45.874
hands , and these were operated by our

28:45.874 --> 28:48.097
soldiers and we've learned a lot coming

28:48.097 --> 28:50.206
back from those we . Something with

28:50.206 --> 28:52.446
tremendous help from Fort Sill this

28:52.446 --> 28:54.446
last this last summer where for the

28:54.446 --> 28:57.475
first time we paired up directed energy

28:57.475 --> 28:59.686
MShora platforms with some of the

28:59.686 --> 29:02.296
kinetic MShoAD platforms coming out of

29:02.296 --> 29:05.855
PO missiles in space with someANPAD air

29:05.855 --> 29:08.022
defense capabilities , and we sent the

29:08.022 --> 29:11.245
soldiers out for training and live fire

29:11.245 --> 29:13.286
exercise so we could start to

29:13.286 --> 29:15.453
understand how . We pair these systems

29:15.453 --> 29:17.621
in a layered and defense to get the

29:17.621 --> 29:21.251
best to get the best outcome utilizing

29:21.442 --> 29:24.011
the advantages of directed energy where

29:24.062 --> 29:26.572
where the cost per shot is is the fuel ,

29:27.381 --> 29:29.381
you know , that would be in this in

29:29.381 --> 29:31.548
this water bottle here versus the cost

29:31.548 --> 29:33.381
of interceptors and how do we do

29:33.381 --> 29:35.048
identification , how do we do

29:35.048 --> 29:37.222
communication across those platforms .

29:37.302 --> 29:40.619
So that was the first big step . So the

29:40.619 --> 29:43.319
question some are asking is , well ,

29:43.510 --> 29:45.788
why , why aren't we going faster ? Why ,

29:45.788 --> 29:48.010
why can't we get a lot of these systems

29:48.010 --> 29:49.954
out to the field ? And , and I was

29:49.954 --> 29:51.954
pointedly asked one day by somebody

29:51.954 --> 29:54.232
that kind of inferring that , you know ,

29:54.232 --> 29:56.260
is it , is it senior leaders that

29:56.260 --> 29:58.427
haven't pushed the I believe button on

29:58.427 --> 30:00.371
directed energy ? Is it our senior

30:00.371 --> 30:02.427
leaders that are holding that back ?

30:02.427 --> 30:04.260
And my answer was emphatically ,

30:04.260 --> 30:06.482
absolutely not . You know , I think the

30:06.482 --> 30:08.555
I . The button for directed energy

30:08.555 --> 30:10.724
needs to be that young private or that

30:10.724 --> 30:12.835
young specialist who's sitting behind

30:12.835 --> 30:16.805
the console who has a a layered and

30:16.805 --> 30:19.805
tier defense consists of A9X

30:19.805 --> 30:22.405
interceptors , coyote interceptors ,

30:22.564 --> 30:25.035
stinger missiles , and directed energy ,

30:25.275 --> 30:27.444
and we have to give that soldier the

30:27.444 --> 30:30.334
confidence that if I let that threat

30:30.604 --> 30:34.449
get past my A9X . And I decided not to

30:34.449 --> 30:36.227
shoot that , you know , several

30:36.227 --> 30:38.338
$100,000 missile at it , and I let it

30:38.338 --> 30:40.449
get in a little closer and I make the

30:40.449 --> 30:42.171
decision to not shoot a coyote

30:42.171 --> 30:44.338
interceptor at it , which I have a few

30:44.338 --> 30:46.449
of over here but still costs you know

30:46.449 --> 30:48.650
100K plus or minus and oh by the way ,

30:49.130 --> 30:51.241
I don't want to use one of my stinger

30:51.241 --> 30:53.530
missiles as well because I have the

30:53.530 --> 30:55.808
confidence that directed energy system ,

30:56.010 --> 30:58.121
which is my last line of defense , is

30:58.121 --> 31:01.180
going to kill that threat . That's the

31:01.180 --> 31:03.829
I believe that . And we have to

31:03.829 --> 31:05.910
continue to work harder . We have to

31:05.910 --> 31:08.132
continue to work with the soldiers . We

31:08.132 --> 31:10.299
have to continue to work with industry

31:10.299 --> 31:12.021
to develop our directed energy

31:12.021 --> 31:14.021
platforms and focus on the areas of

31:14.021 --> 31:16.689
reliability because I'm not gonna , not

31:16.689 --> 31:19.069
gonna not shoot my interceptor if I

31:19.069 --> 31:21.709
don't believe that that system can work

31:21.709 --> 31:24.569
reliably . We've got to work on

31:24.569 --> 31:27.319
maintainability because I don't believe

31:27.319 --> 31:29.930
we can have we can get by with the

31:29.930 --> 31:31.986
thought of having clean rooms out in

31:31.986 --> 31:34.208
combat , which right now you take apart

31:34.208 --> 31:36.097
a beam director on the front of a

31:36.097 --> 31:38.208
directed energy system . It's a clean

31:38.208 --> 31:40.208
room environment , iso shelters and

31:40.208 --> 31:40.170
everything else . We can't do that .

31:40.209 --> 31:42.209
We've got to get away from that and

31:42.209 --> 31:44.859
we've got to continue . To demonstrate

31:44.859 --> 31:47.081
the marked improvements that we've seen

31:47.081 --> 31:49.910
from Gen 1 systems to 2 systems from

31:50.150 --> 31:53.310
from a lethality perspective so that we

31:53.310 --> 31:55.859
can actually engage in what I consider

31:55.859 --> 31:58.189
operationally relevant ranges . That's

31:58.189 --> 32:00.411
the I Believe button , and industry and

32:00.411 --> 32:02.578
the team is working incredibly hard at

32:02.578 --> 32:05.099
getting getting after that . That being

32:05.099 --> 32:07.380
said , after years of prototyping from

32:07.380 --> 32:09.699
large to small , uh , we were asked to

32:09.699 --> 32:12.050
go back into Army senior leaders with a

32:12.050 --> 32:14.161
hey , we've invested across this wide

32:14.161 --> 32:16.540
spectrum of capability . Where , where

32:16.540 --> 32:18.900
should we , should we look at investing

32:18.900 --> 32:21.180
first ? And that's the roots of the

32:21.180 --> 32:23.513
Army enduring High Energy laser program .

32:24.224 --> 32:26.391
You should see in the 26 budget should

32:26.391 --> 32:28.775
be competed in 26 where the army will

32:28.775 --> 32:31.515
actually start looking at procuring

32:31.515 --> 32:34.354
those capabilities at more than one or

32:34.354 --> 32:36.994
two Z's in scale because we believe

32:36.994 --> 32:38.994
based on what we've learned , where

32:38.994 --> 32:40.883
that's the sweet spot so far that

32:40.883 --> 32:42.875
industry has shown us that the

32:42.875 --> 32:44.931
technology has shown us where we can

32:44.931 --> 32:46.986
get the combination of reliability ,

32:47.234 --> 32:49.345
affordability , and lethality for our

32:49.345 --> 32:52.239
soldiers . So we are stressing in this

32:52.239 --> 32:54.295
effort to industry the need for that

32:54.295 --> 32:56.461
reliability and sustainability , going

32:56.461 --> 32:59.099
with a modular modular approach for

32:59.099 --> 33:01.099
components so that we can allow the

33:01.099 --> 33:03.210
soldiers to do line replaceable units

33:03.210 --> 33:05.210
for certain aspects of these very ,

33:05.210 --> 33:07.609
very complex technical systems without

33:07.609 --> 33:09.739
the need for the clean rooms . We've

33:09.739 --> 33:11.906
asked for industry to help . Help them

33:13.140 --> 33:15.739
where we can help improve manufacturing

33:15.739 --> 33:17.406
manufacturability of critical

33:17.406 --> 33:19.979
components for DE which will as we

33:19.979 --> 33:22.329
continue to press on this technology

33:22.329 --> 33:24.619
will allow us to scale quickly and

33:24.619 --> 33:26.939
allow us to continue to reduce costs .

33:26.979 --> 33:28.979
All of this coupled with the ever

33:28.979 --> 33:31.660
increasing demand to get more lethal at

33:31.660 --> 33:35.400
further range . So the DE that General

33:35.400 --> 33:37.622
Stewart mentioned earlier , it's , it's

33:37.622 --> 33:39.880
in play . I believe it's absolutely a

33:39.880 --> 33:42.047
critical enabler for our workforce and

33:42.047 --> 33:44.550
and our DE team continues to press hard

33:44.550 --> 33:47.430
on proving that out across reliability ,

33:48.339 --> 33:50.400
uh , sustainability , or

33:50.400 --> 33:54.280
maintainability , and lethality . In

33:54.280 --> 33:54.729
extra

33:58.040 --> 34:00.989
Yes , this is a robot . Question number

34:00.989 --> 34:03.119
one , what the heck does a robot have

34:03.119 --> 34:05.008
anything to do with space missile

34:05.008 --> 34:07.175
defense symposium ? Um , but imagine a

34:07.175 --> 34:10.820
robot that has a laser on it .

34:11.399 --> 34:13.343
I just spent a few minutes talking

34:13.343 --> 34:15.510
about one of the challenges we have is

34:15.510 --> 34:17.788
lethality and tactical relevant ranges .

34:17.788 --> 34:19.843
What if I put a laser on a robot and

34:19.843 --> 34:21.955
sit it forward of the forward line of

34:21.955 --> 34:24.121
troops and I'm able to control it back

34:24.121 --> 34:26.010
there ? Does that not by itself ?

34:26.090 --> 34:28.146
Without having to invest a gazillion

34:28.146 --> 34:30.368
dollars in getting another 3 kilometers

34:30.368 --> 34:32.590
with lasers , put it on a platform that

34:32.590 --> 34:34.534
I can send out in front , keep our

34:34.534 --> 34:36.534
soldiers safe , to help reduce that

34:36.534 --> 34:38.757
range , absolutely . Or imagine on that

34:38.757 --> 34:40.860
robot , a counter small UAS factor ,

34:41.169 --> 34:43.840
whether kinetic or non-kinetic , and

34:43.840 --> 34:45.959
what they can do for this space . So

34:45.959 --> 34:48.126
the human-machine integrated formation

34:48.126 --> 34:49.959
effort , which is run out of our

34:49.959 --> 34:52.126
offices up at Aberdeen Proving Grounds

34:52.126 --> 34:54.885
and Fort Bell . is taking what I

34:54.885 --> 34:57.245
believe is the hard step in

34:57.245 --> 34:59.301
operationalizing autonomy so that it

34:59.301 --> 35:01.645
can be inserted into our formations and

35:01.645 --> 35:03.645
then expanding that capability over

35:03.645 --> 35:06.084
time over time . So this term , the

35:06.084 --> 35:08.804
term HMIF , it's absolutely been

35:08.804 --> 35:11.026
co-opted by everyone . I could probably

35:11.026 --> 35:12.748
walk on the floor out here . I

35:12.748 --> 35:14.748
certainly saw it AUSA . Everybody's

35:14.748 --> 35:16.860
HMIFing . We've turned it into a verb

35:16.860 --> 35:19.804
to some degree , but I believe that the

35:19.804 --> 35:22.270
construct , the general rain . Who came

35:22.270 --> 35:24.679
to me about 2 years ago , or 2.5 years

35:24.679 --> 35:27.040
ago in this very room , um , and

35:27.040 --> 35:28.984
started talking to me about is the

35:28.984 --> 35:31.207
approach , is the hard approach that we

35:31.207 --> 35:33.207
need to take uh to , to make this a

35:33.207 --> 35:35.449
reality . And armor Army Futures

35:35.449 --> 35:37.689
Command released a characteristic of

35:37.689 --> 35:39.860
needs uh statement this last summer ,

35:39.969 --> 35:42.136
and they laid out four lines of effort

35:42.136 --> 35:44.610
in that on the autonomy front and the

35:44.610 --> 35:46.810
Army's HMIF increment one effort that

35:46.810 --> 35:49.090
we're executing at Rito is focused on

35:49.090 --> 35:51.530
line of effort one formation based

35:51.530 --> 35:53.969
autonomy . Uh , so , so what does this

35:53.969 --> 35:56.169
mean ? Um , this means that I have

35:56.169 --> 35:58.225
asked our team not to get focused on

35:58.225 --> 36:00.439
the platform . I don't care really

36:00.439 --> 36:02.328
about the robot other than it has

36:02.328 --> 36:06.000
enough power , it has enough wheels to

36:06.000 --> 36:08.000
keep up with our formation , but my

36:08.000 --> 36:10.167
belief is that robots are going to get

36:10.167 --> 36:12.500
better and better over time in industry .

36:12.500 --> 36:14.556
You guys are really , really good at

36:14.556 --> 36:16.722
doing that stuff . So why should we be

36:16.722 --> 36:18.611
investing . And that now will let

36:18.611 --> 36:20.778
competition play itself out . The same

36:20.778 --> 36:23.000
with platform autonomy . Uh , I had a ,

36:23.000 --> 36:25.167
I had a wonderful experience this last

36:25.167 --> 36:27.389
year of riding in amo . Anybody written

36:27.389 --> 36:29.444
in auemo ? I can't see your hands if

36:29.444 --> 36:28.875
you're raised anyway . That's the

36:28.875 --> 36:30.764
autonomous taxi . I did it out in

36:30.764 --> 36:33.875
Austin , Texas . Life changing . Um ,

36:33.955 --> 36:36.011
that technology is here now . That's

36:36.011 --> 36:38.449
road-based . I get it . Um , and we'll

36:38.449 --> 36:40.616
continue to incrementally get better ,

36:40.616 --> 36:42.671
uh , off-road capabilities for these

36:42.671 --> 36:44.727
robotic systems . So right now , why

36:44.727 --> 36:47.080
don't we look at tasks , tasks for them

36:47.330 --> 36:49.552
which can use the roads to offload some

36:49.552 --> 36:51.774
of those tasks . So I've asked the team

36:51.774 --> 36:53.552
not to really focus on platform

36:53.552 --> 36:55.774
autonomy . Those , those are just going

36:55.774 --> 36:57.830
to naturally get better . Government

36:57.830 --> 36:59.997
SAT is going to help that area . A lot

36:59.997 --> 37:02.108
of commercial industry , a lot of our

37:02.108 --> 37:04.219
military industry are looking hard at

37:04.219 --> 37:06.441
that , but I have challenged the team .

37:06.441 --> 37:08.108
To really look at this from a

37:08.108 --> 37:10.540
perspective of mission autonomy . So

37:10.540 --> 37:12.651
how can I take the various autonomous

37:12.651 --> 37:15.330
or semi-autonomous platforms ? How can

37:15.330 --> 37:17.370
I couple them with a variety of

37:17.370 --> 37:19.537
payloads ? It could be everything from

37:19.537 --> 37:22.090
a litter to carry wounded . It could be

37:22.090 --> 37:24.489
a laser . It could be a javelin . It

37:24.489 --> 37:26.267
could be a 50 cow , it could be

37:26.267 --> 37:28.489
tethered UAS's , it could be EW . It

37:28.489 --> 37:30.656
could be a variety of things , but how

37:30.656 --> 37:33.010
do I take that platform , the robot ,

37:33.129 --> 37:36.290
which is just really amo , um , we

37:36.290 --> 37:38.457
don't have people right in right now ,

37:38.457 --> 37:40.899
put those payloads on it . Um , and

37:40.899 --> 37:42.566
integrated into an underlying

37:42.566 --> 37:44.780
architecture that I'm ensuring the

37:44.780 --> 37:47.090
cognitive load of those soldiers , uh ,

37:47.100 --> 37:48.933
that are gonna be operating that

37:48.933 --> 37:50.989
equipment , um , can be at the level

37:50.989 --> 37:53.156
where I can eventually get to a one to

37:53.156 --> 37:55.322
many soldier to machine ratio . And if

37:55.322 --> 37:57.600
you look at how it's working right now ,

37:57.600 --> 37:59.489
it's mini to one . Many operators

37:59.489 --> 38:01.705
operating one robot , one operating a

38:01.705 --> 38:03.854
robot , one operating payload ,

38:04.054 --> 38:05.776
coordinating across with other

38:05.776 --> 38:08.225
operators , doing operators and

38:08.225 --> 38:10.540
payloads . We can do better . And

38:10.540 --> 38:12.860
mission autonomy is , is , is how we

38:12.860 --> 38:14.979
need to do that . So we brought an

38:14.979 --> 38:17.035
industry to help in this command and

38:17.035 --> 38:19.469
control construct of it to help . Uh ,

38:19.500 --> 38:21.611
they're helping us across a multitude

38:21.611 --> 38:23.780
of efforts integrating both the

38:23.780 --> 38:25.850
platform autonomy , the payload

38:25.850 --> 38:27.794
autonomy , and the overall mission

38:27.794 --> 38:30.017
autonomy to de-aggregate those . Higher

38:30.017 --> 38:32.745
Level tasks into war fighter useful

38:32.745 --> 38:35.824
functions to again offload that

38:35.824 --> 38:38.185
capability and ensure that this

38:38.185 --> 38:40.985
capability is also set on a path to be

38:40.985 --> 38:44.264
integratable into the Army's NextGen C2

38:44.264 --> 38:46.465
construct which the Army is looking at

38:46.465 --> 38:48.632
rolling out pretty heavily in the 2026

38:48.632 --> 38:50.687
time frame . So that's the challenge

38:50.687 --> 38:53.024
that I gave our team . They're focused

38:53.024 --> 38:55.304
initially on building two platoons of

38:55.304 --> 38:58.340
kit . One platoon of robots to be

38:58.340 --> 39:00.899
embedded within an infantry company and

39:00.899 --> 39:03.010
one platoon of robots with associated

39:03.010 --> 39:05.899
payload and support equipment within an

39:05.899 --> 39:08.860
armor formation , and I've challenged

39:08.860 --> 39:10.804
them to deliver that to one of our

39:10.804 --> 39:13.610
army's transforming contact units to

39:13.610 --> 39:15.939
support an NTC rotation in the 27 time

39:15.939 --> 39:19.050
frame . So success for me , or success

39:19.050 --> 39:21.689
for us , I believe in this case is

39:21.689 --> 39:24.330
number one , ensuring that whatever we

39:24.330 --> 39:27.090
feel is is innately intuitive to the

39:27.090 --> 39:28.757
soldiers as they're operating

39:28.757 --> 39:31.550
regardless of their technical expertise .

39:31.850 --> 39:34.010
This should be a natural extension of

39:34.010 --> 39:37.120
their skills , not a required . A 6

39:37.120 --> 39:39.231
month training course to learn how to

39:39.231 --> 39:42.300
operate a system , but more importantly

39:42.510 --> 39:45.350
is if we add autonomous systems into a

39:45.350 --> 39:47.406
small attachment formation , is that

39:47.406 --> 39:49.669
formation more legal and is it more

39:49.669 --> 39:51.836
survivable ? That , that those are the

39:51.836 --> 39:53.836
two largest metrics and I'm looking

39:53.836 --> 39:55.947
forward to seeing that plays out over

39:55.947 --> 39:59.250
time . Next chart , please . Uh , the

39:59.250 --> 40:01.583
common autonomous multi-domain launcher ,

40:01.699 --> 40:03.477
excuse me , you got to love our

40:03.477 --> 40:05.755
acronyms in the army . This is a camel .

40:06.030 --> 40:07.969
Um , this is envisioned as a

40:07.969 --> 40:10.209
replacement to the current fleet of

40:10.209 --> 40:12.959
diverse launchers that we employ , but

40:12.959 --> 40:15.449
with a twist . We've been tasked to

40:15.449 --> 40:17.505
develop a multi-domain launcher that

40:17.505 --> 40:19.989
supports that supports both offensive

40:20.530 --> 40:22.969
and defensive missiles . The mission is

40:22.969 --> 40:24.989
to provide a mobile autonomous .

40:25.429 --> 40:28.070
Optionally banned cross domain fires

40:28.070 --> 40:30.909
capability that provides capacity

40:30.909 --> 40:32.965
greater than our current formation .

40:33.229 --> 40:35.429
This is a big change for our army and

40:35.429 --> 40:37.651
we're talking multi-domain fires mixing

40:37.651 --> 40:39.873
offensive and defensive together . This

40:39.873 --> 40:43.590
is important . The system itself will

40:43.590 --> 40:45.750
contain at least initially two

40:45.750 --> 40:47.806
prototype sizes of launchers . We're

40:47.806 --> 40:49.861
looking at a camel large and a camel

40:49.861 --> 40:52.270
medium . Uh , just based on the

40:52.270 --> 40:54.270
missiles that we want to put on the

40:54.270 --> 40:56.270
back , it'll have an autonomy kit .

40:56.270 --> 40:58.548
It'll have a leader vehicle . You know ,

40:58.548 --> 41:00.714
these are not the types of , uh , of ,

41:00.714 --> 41:02.937
of platforms that we typically do heavy

41:02.937 --> 41:05.214
off-road work with , so some off-roads ,

41:05.214 --> 41:07.381
some dirt roads , but generally leader

41:07.381 --> 41:09.326
follower type , that's the minimal

41:09.326 --> 41:11.492
level of autonomy we're looking at for

41:11.492 --> 41:13.714
this capability , uh , and also provide

41:13.714 --> 41:15.937
an automated resupply or organic , um ,

41:15.937 --> 41:18.048
autonomous resupply capability within

41:18.048 --> 41:19.881
that formation . The system will

41:19.881 --> 41:21.937
support multiple effectors including

41:21.937 --> 41:25.449
Tomahawk . PA 3 MSC , you know , the

41:25.449 --> 41:27.649
offense and the defense just on one

41:27.649 --> 41:31.129
platform as well as MLRS MLRS family

41:31.129 --> 41:33.296
ammunitions , the entire family moving

41:33.296 --> 41:35.489
into the PRM area , as well as II

41:35.489 --> 41:38.090
interceptors to start . So offense

41:38.090 --> 41:39.979
defense both on large and both on

41:39.979 --> 41:41.868
medium , and then the plan is for

41:41.868 --> 41:44.090
future effectors that are developed for

41:44.090 --> 41:46.146
both offensive and defensive fires ,

41:46.146 --> 41:48.689
they would be developed and built to

41:48.689 --> 41:50.745
the standards of interfaces that fit

41:50.745 --> 41:53.370
within that launcher . So obviously

41:53.370 --> 41:55.489
this is , uh , this is very much and

41:55.489 --> 41:57.879
also the PEO missiles and space lane .

41:58.149 --> 42:00.371
So they will be our transition partners

42:00.371 --> 42:02.593
for this effort , and we are leveraging

42:02.593 --> 42:04.705
their team heavily to help us on this

42:04.705 --> 42:06.760
endeavor . The launcher part is , is

42:06.760 --> 42:08.929
easy . The integrating these disparate

42:08.929 --> 42:12.129
fire control , you know , uh , systems

42:12.129 --> 42:14.239
that reside on . on those current

42:14.239 --> 42:16.461
launchers today and getting the , the ,

42:16.461 --> 42:18.628
the , the swap and the formit function

42:18.719 --> 42:20.941
down in these smaller platforms , we're

42:20.941 --> 42:22.997
leading up on heavily , uh , to , to

42:22.997 --> 42:25.163
help us in that area and , and they've

42:25.163 --> 42:28.080
been great . So the chief , as I quoted

42:28.080 --> 42:30.159
on the earlier chart , said we can't

42:30.159 --> 42:32.479
wait till 2030 to solve these problems .

42:32.560 --> 42:35.580
So he has generously given us 18 months

42:36.120 --> 42:38.120
to deliver these prototypes for the

42:38.120 --> 42:40.287
army , a whole 18 months . We're super

42:40.287 --> 42:42.342
excited about getting after it . And

42:42.342 --> 42:44.564
then on top of that , after giving us a

42:44.564 --> 42:46.676
generous 18 months , said , oh by the

42:46.676 --> 42:48.509
way , we want to demonstrate the

42:48.509 --> 42:50.009
capability with some early

42:50.009 --> 42:52.120
demonstrators in about 6 months' time

42:52.120 --> 42:54.342
frame . So , uh , the team is anxiously

42:54.342 --> 42:56.509
chomping at the bit to get the funding

42:56.509 --> 42:58.731
out of the omnibus to help us kick this

42:58.731 --> 43:00.842
effort off and get started . The good

43:00.842 --> 43:02.898
news is , although , uh , you know ,

43:02.898 --> 43:02.689
most of the industries in here going ,

43:02.739 --> 43:05.050
that's very ambitious , yes , it is ,

43:05.300 --> 43:07.620
but this capability is , is highly

43:07.620 --> 43:09.342
desired by the entirety of the

43:09.342 --> 43:11.540
enterprise . So as we at RTO have

43:11.540 --> 43:13.873
looked at building prototypes over time ,

43:13.873 --> 43:15.707
the material piece is one of the

43:15.707 --> 43:19.530
challenge . The PF aspect of of

43:19.530 --> 43:21.820
actually delivering a capability and

43:21.820 --> 43:23.860
not just a piece of kit is a whole

43:23.860 --> 43:26.027
other set of challenges , but the Domo

43:26.027 --> 43:28.209
PFP community in this case is lined up

43:28.209 --> 43:30.320
wholeheartedly to make this work . So

43:30.320 --> 43:32.542
we're really excited about it , to make

43:32.542 --> 43:34.550
it a reality . Thank .

43:36.419 --> 43:38.540
MAX , the multi-domaind artillery

43:38.540 --> 43:40.860
cannon system . So I talked about this

43:40.860 --> 43:43.340
last year and we're still awaiting

43:43.340 --> 43:45.396
funding for this effort . It's still

43:45.396 --> 43:47.396
working through . One day funding's

43:47.396 --> 43:49.507
coming , one day it's not , but we're

43:49.507 --> 43:51.618
working through what this system will

43:51.618 --> 43:53.340
execute for the army . It's an

43:53.340 --> 43:55.451
artillery base air defense system for

43:55.451 --> 43:57.451
fixed and semi-fixed sites , and it

43:57.451 --> 44:00.635
works in kind of the same space . As

44:00.635 --> 44:03.635
the IIC family does for the PO this

44:03.635 --> 44:06.354
space of executing and it's designed

44:06.354 --> 44:08.354
against a similar threat with maybe

44:08.354 --> 44:10.895
some potential for some threats beyond ,

44:10.915 --> 44:13.725
but at least the original , the initial

44:13.725 --> 44:16.435
capability will provide . The big bet

44:16.754 --> 44:18.715
being the cost of hypervelocity

44:18.715 --> 44:21.114
projectiles reduces the over costs of

44:21.114 --> 44:23.215
engagement over time and potentially

44:23.215 --> 44:25.271
even engage . And further ranges and

44:25.271 --> 44:27.719
more lucrative targets . So this effort

44:27.719 --> 44:30.489
is a continuation of a strategic

44:30.489 --> 44:33.209
capabilities office effort of an OSD

44:33.209 --> 44:35.265
called the Hypervelocity gun Weapons

44:35.265 --> 44:37.265
System , and they have matured to a

44:37.265 --> 44:39.431
point where OSD has looked to the army

44:39.431 --> 44:41.487
and say , Army , we want you to take

44:41.487 --> 44:43.820
this . We want you to operationalize it .

44:43.820 --> 44:45.876
We want you to get it to folders and

44:45.876 --> 44:47.987
get it assessed for its operational .

44:47.987 --> 44:50.504
liability . So that will be our job at

44:50.504 --> 44:52.854
RIO to take this technology from SCO ,

44:53.104 --> 44:55.271
and they have been tremendous partners

44:55.271 --> 44:57.326
and we've been working with them for

44:57.326 --> 44:59.437
about 2 years now , hand in hand with

44:59.437 --> 45:01.382
them as they as they've been going

45:01.382 --> 45:03.604
through the range and and maturation of

45:03.604 --> 45:05.826
this technology , but take that and and

45:05.826 --> 45:07.715
mature it to a point where we can

45:07.715 --> 45:09.937
integrate it with the Army's integrated

45:09.937 --> 45:09.534
air missile defense capability . That

45:09.534 --> 45:12.375
means it's got to work within IBCS . Uh ,

45:12.385 --> 45:14.552
we've got to harden the overall system

45:14.552 --> 45:16.718
design so that it can be expeditionary

45:16.718 --> 45:18.718
in nature . And we've got to ensure

45:18.718 --> 45:20.329
that the system can meet the

45:20.329 --> 45:22.441
reliability requirements that we need

45:22.441 --> 45:24.663
in this space . So fundamentally you've

45:24.663 --> 45:27.179
got a a canon here . You've got a

45:27.179 --> 45:29.290
multifunctional precision radar .

45:29.459 --> 45:31.403
You've got the multi-domain battle

45:31.403 --> 45:33.292
manager in this case , which will

45:33.292 --> 45:35.237
integrate with IBCS , and then the

45:35.237 --> 45:37.126
hypervelocity projectiles and the

45:37.126 --> 45:39.237
ammunition . Uh , so , so although um

45:39.237 --> 45:42.350
funding is still en route , so I'm told ,

45:42.600 --> 45:44.520
uh , the team , the small team ,

45:44.760 --> 45:46.927
typical rito size , I think it's about

45:46.927 --> 45:48.982
6 people have been working this hard

45:48.982 --> 45:51.120
for 2 years , spent a lot of time

45:51.120 --> 45:53.176
working with industry on ensuring we

45:53.176 --> 45:55.342
understand the state of the technology

45:55.342 --> 45:57.287
and have developed the acquisition

45:57.287 --> 45:59.287
strategies to execute as soon as we

45:59.287 --> 46:01.419
receive appropriated funds . So next

46:03.520 --> 46:05.879
So , uh , this is the final subject I

46:05.879 --> 46:08.046
want to talk about . Certainly not the

46:08.046 --> 46:10.157
least of importance . Um , it's right

46:10.157 --> 46:12.268
up there is one of the more important

46:12.268 --> 46:14.490
things we do , but it's , it's a little

46:14.490 --> 46:16.601
unique , uh , with , with , with Rito

46:16.601 --> 46:18.823
having been assigned an additional duty

46:18.823 --> 46:20.990
as a joint program office for the Guam

46:20.990 --> 46:22.879
Defense system , and Guam Defense

46:22.879 --> 46:25.199
system is a 360 degree enhanced

46:25.199 --> 46:26.921
integrated air missile defense

46:26.921 --> 46:29.879
capability for Indo-Pacific . Uh ,

46:30.550 --> 46:32.709
also though defining an architecture

46:32.709 --> 46:35.830
that's not geographically bespoke to a

46:35.830 --> 46:39.270
specific , specific region , but as we

46:39.270 --> 46:41.492
deliver it to Indo-Pacific , it will be

46:41.492 --> 46:43.492
designed to defend the people , the

46:43.492 --> 46:45.492
infrastructure and the territory of

46:45.492 --> 46:48.989
Guam are farthest most west island in

46:48.989 --> 46:51.709
the Pacific , against a variety of

46:51.709 --> 46:53.909
advanced ballistic , hypersonic , and

46:53.909 --> 46:56.639
cruise missile threats . So from , from

46:56.639 --> 46:58.879
a JPO perspective , a jointre program

46:58.879 --> 47:00.712
office perspective , this is not

47:00.712 --> 47:03.159
typical of , of how we do things . When

47:03.159 --> 47:05.449
you look at the components that make up

47:05.449 --> 47:07.800
the architecture of the Guam defense

47:07.800 --> 47:10.879
system , all of them , uh , at the

47:10.879 --> 47:14.679
sensor , at the C2 , at the launcher .

47:15.129 --> 47:18.679
At the interceptor level reside within

47:18.679 --> 47:20.679
the existing services , so we're

47:20.679 --> 47:22.679
talking all of the systems that the

47:22.679 --> 47:24.735
Navy builds , that the Army builds ,

47:24.735 --> 47:26.623
the Air Force builds that Missile

47:26.623 --> 47:28.846
Defense Agency has worked on . They own

47:28.846 --> 47:31.790
programmatic day to day responsibility

47:31.790 --> 47:35.510
for that kit . But there is absolutely

47:35.560 --> 47:39.360
at the JPO level an integration and

47:39.360 --> 47:43.280
synchronization role to make sure that

47:43.280 --> 47:45.469
as this capability comes to fruition ,

47:45.639 --> 47:47.750
whether it's a new capability or it's

47:47.750 --> 47:49.917
just another thing being delivered off

47:49.917 --> 47:52.028
a production line that we have worked

47:52.028 --> 47:54.360
through on the dotno PFP aspect of that

47:54.360 --> 47:56.879
kit and that when it gets on island

47:56.879 --> 47:59.046
we've got all those problems solved as

47:59.046 --> 48:01.429
well as the integration aspects of how

48:01.429 --> 48:03.707
the war fighter is going to fight that .

48:03.707 --> 48:06.540
on island so they can work together .

48:06.729 --> 48:08.919
So the Domino PFP synchronization has

48:08.919 --> 48:11.610
absolutely been a full-time effort as

48:11.610 --> 48:13.610
the team has worked to bring in the

48:13.610 --> 48:17.330
multitude of DOD players in this , but

48:17.330 --> 48:19.570
again this is part of the homeland in

48:19.570 --> 48:22.530
Guam , so it's also across the entirety

48:22.530 --> 48:24.850
of government , you know , aligning and

48:24.850 --> 48:27.017
ensuring that all of the right players

48:27.017 --> 48:28.794
who are involved in things like

48:28.794 --> 48:30.739
environmental impacts , you know ,

48:30.739 --> 48:32.961
military construction and all that gets

48:32.961 --> 48:35.017
gets laid clean . So , but on top of

48:35.017 --> 48:37.128
the synchronization rule , there is a

48:37.128 --> 48:38.961
new piece here , uh , that we're

48:38.961 --> 48:41.072
working with this , uh , this program

48:41.072 --> 48:43.128
office , and that's called the Joint

48:43.128 --> 48:45.406
Integrated Bat Management , uh , layer .

48:45.406 --> 48:47.572
So this is a component that's going to

48:47.572 --> 48:49.183
take the current service and

48:49.183 --> 48:51.239
agency-owned fire direction and fire

48:51.239 --> 48:53.461
control . Systems and integrate them to

48:53.461 --> 48:55.517
a level where they behave , not that

48:55.517 --> 48:57.739
we're turning them into one , but where

48:57.739 --> 48:59.406
they behave and operate as an

48:59.406 --> 49:02.405
integrated and unified system . So when

49:02.405 --> 49:04.572
you look at the potential mass raids ,

49:04.572 --> 49:06.683
we've seen those playing out in other

49:06.683 --> 49:08.738
parts of the world today . We do not

49:08.738 --> 49:10.738
believe , and I don't think anybody

49:10.738 --> 49:12.849
believes that we can fight that fight

49:12.849 --> 49:14.905
in a swivel chair joint fire control

49:14.905 --> 49:16.849
construct . So we're not trying to

49:16.849 --> 49:19.090
solve the problem of redefining one

49:19.090 --> 49:21.257
fire control system to rule them all ,

49:21.257 --> 49:23.368
but how can we take the best of those

49:23.368 --> 49:25.423
systems to enable decision makers to

49:25.423 --> 49:27.689
make the hard and fast decision on

49:27.689 --> 49:30.010
which interceptor that's being guided

49:30.010 --> 49:32.177
by which radar should take that shot .

49:32.479 --> 49:34.820
Uh , and , and ensure that that's

49:34.820 --> 49:37.060
properly passed off through a digital

49:37.060 --> 49:39.500
fire direction , not over the shoulder

49:39.500 --> 49:41.667
to the operator on the other station .

49:42.560 --> 49:44.899
So this this capability involves a lot

49:44.899 --> 49:47.232
of help and a lot of support , you know ,

49:47.379 --> 49:49.459
from all the services that own these

49:49.459 --> 49:51.626
individual fire direction fire control

49:51.626 --> 49:53.848
capabilities as well as missile defense

49:53.848 --> 49:56.340
agency , and I want to publicly say my

49:56.340 --> 49:59.100
thanks to the entirety of those teams

49:59.100 --> 50:01.639
for helping us move forward to a point

50:02.060 --> 50:04.004
where we can make this idea , this

50:04.004 --> 50:06.060
construct , which is long overdue in

50:06.060 --> 50:09.149
operational reality . So , uh , ladies

50:09.149 --> 50:11.093
and gentlemen , first , thanks for

50:11.093 --> 50:13.316
allowing me to spend some time with you

50:13.316 --> 50:15.429
this morning . I hope I'm leaving you

50:15.429 --> 50:17.596
with the understanding that this small

50:17.596 --> 50:19.762
Rito team , and when I say small , I'm

50:19.762 --> 50:21.985
talking less than 300 people across the

50:21.985 --> 50:24.110
entirety of the organization , is

50:24.110 --> 50:26.350
entirely focused on some hard problems

50:26.350 --> 50:28.517
that our army has given to them by our

50:28.517 --> 50:30.610
army senior leaders . Uh , that the

50:30.610 --> 50:32.969
construct of providing expanded

50:32.969 --> 50:35.479
authorities with senior leader , uh ,

50:35.489 --> 50:38.169
underwriting risk coupled with that

50:38.169 --> 50:39.836
tremendous support across the

50:39.836 --> 50:42.350
enterprise of the army . And then

50:42.350 --> 50:45.189
providing them with an exceptionally

50:45.189 --> 50:47.709
talented , agile workforce with a never

50:47.709 --> 50:49.860
quit attitude is making a difference

50:50.270 --> 50:52.830
for our army and for our nation . Again ,

50:53.070 --> 50:55.292
I am super proud of this team and super

50:55.292 --> 50:57.750
proud to have the ability to walk into

50:57.750 --> 50:59.972
the office every day and get smarter on

51:00.030 --> 51:02.141
whatever in the world they're working

51:02.141 --> 51:04.363
on at that point in time . So thank you

51:04.363 --> 51:06.474
for having me , and with that I think

51:06.474 --> 51:06.419
we may have a few minutes for questions .

51:06.590 --> 51:07.590
Thank you .

51:13.350 --> 51:15.517
Uh , thank you for that update , sir .

51:15.517 --> 51:17.572
Uh , I do have a couple of questions

51:17.572 --> 51:19.794
here . Uh , would you expand on how Rto

51:19.794 --> 51:22.017
is collaborating with other services on

51:22.017 --> 51:24.294
hypersonic and directed energy weapons ?

51:25.459 --> 51:28.719
Any questions about that ? Um , so , uh ,

51:28.780 --> 51:30.780
Hypersonics is one that again that

51:30.780 --> 51:32.891
program has transitioned , but I will

51:32.891 --> 51:34.724
tell you there has been a lot of

51:34.724 --> 51:38.100
support and help from OSD , and I know

51:38.100 --> 51:40.100
some people might chuckle . In this

51:40.100 --> 51:42.260
case , uh , the , the OSC staff ,

51:42.419 --> 51:44.086
especially with an R&E from a

51:44.086 --> 51:46.197
hypersonics perspective , uh , Doctor

51:46.197 --> 51:48.141
Jim Webber , James Webber has been

51:48.141 --> 51:50.459
tremendous help in in ensuring that we

51:50.459 --> 51:52.515
are level setting information across

51:52.515 --> 51:54.281
the service . In the area of

51:54.281 --> 51:58.201
hypersonics , um , the MOA or MOU

51:58.201 --> 52:00.257
that was signed between the Army and

52:00.257 --> 52:03.162
Navy for a conventional prop strike and

52:03.162 --> 52:05.961
long range hypersonic weapon is unlike

52:05.961 --> 52:08.362
any MOU I've ever seen . I mean , I ,

52:08.441 --> 52:10.751
I've been around joint programs before ,

52:11.241 --> 52:14.241
and this program office wasn't called a

52:14.241 --> 52:16.408
joint program office for hypersonics .

52:16.408 --> 52:18.519
The Army had their program , the Navy

52:18.519 --> 52:20.741
had their program , but when you looked

52:20.741 --> 52:22.797
at the data . operations of how that

52:22.797 --> 52:25.154
operated , it was the most joint of any

52:25.154 --> 52:27.321
program I've ever been a part of , not

52:27.321 --> 52:29.487
because somebody put a purple J at the

52:29.487 --> 52:31.265
front , but because of how they

52:31.265 --> 52:33.487
constructed that MOU to ensure both the

52:33.487 --> 52:34.874
Navy and the army

52:37.704 --> 52:39.760
had equitable investments in this in

52:39.760 --> 52:41.648
this capability . And if the Navy

52:41.648 --> 52:43.815
backed out , the army wouldn't get any

52:43.815 --> 52:46.148
capability , and if the army backed out ,

52:46.148 --> 52:48.371
the Navy wouldn't capability didn't get

52:48.371 --> 52:50.315
any capability . So we both had to

52:50.315 --> 52:52.482
invest heavily . We had to make trades

52:52.482 --> 52:54.704
across navy and Army lines to make sure

52:54.704 --> 52:56.760
that we could buttress up areas that

52:56.760 --> 52:58.871
needed more support and reinforce the

52:58.871 --> 53:00.704
areas of success . So that was a

53:00.704 --> 53:02.871
tremendous opportunity in the areas of

53:02.871 --> 53:04.815
hypersonics . Directive Energy , I

53:04.815 --> 53:06.648
would say is somewhat the same ,

53:06.845 --> 53:09.012
although if you look at the history of

53:09.012 --> 53:11.486
large investments across the services ,

53:11.496 --> 53:13.496
it's kind of gone in cycle . So Air

53:13.496 --> 53:16.045
Force was the , the first big investor .

53:16.330 --> 53:19.689
And prototyping airbase laser

53:19.689 --> 53:22.570
platform , and , and they took it to a

53:22.570 --> 53:24.792
point and they ran into some challenges

53:25.050 --> 53:27.879
with that . So their investments went

53:27.879 --> 53:30.050
down . The navy picked it up and had

53:30.050 --> 53:32.217
done a lot with it , and then the army

53:32.217 --> 53:34.272
comes on learning lessons . Both the

53:34.272 --> 53:36.040
Air Force and the Navy and our

53:36.040 --> 53:38.262
investments , and I think the one thing

53:38.262 --> 53:40.373
that OSD has helped us realize in the

53:40.373 --> 53:42.596
cross communication between services is

53:42.596 --> 53:44.818
that we each have very , very different

53:44.818 --> 53:47.250
challenges . The Air Force for their

53:47.250 --> 53:49.459
airborne-based lasers have the nicety

53:49.459 --> 53:52.370
of having nice , clean , cool air . So ,

53:52.379 --> 53:55.209
so as far as you're losing the power ,

53:55.300 --> 53:57.659
the lethality of that laser . Over

53:57.659 --> 54:00.580
distance , isn't really a problem , but

54:00.580 --> 54:02.802
man , those , those lasers weigh a heck

54:02.802 --> 54:05.024
of a lot and you only got so much space

54:05.024 --> 54:07.247
so I can put on our airframes . So that

54:07.247 --> 54:09.247
was their problem . The navy , uh ,

54:09.247 --> 54:11.469
they don't have a power problem because

54:11.469 --> 54:11.139
they're floating on sea on a big

54:11.139 --> 54:13.260
battery , um , so they don't have the

54:13.260 --> 54:15.427
power problems that , that we have and

54:15.427 --> 54:17.371
quite frankly , their air is a lot

54:17.371 --> 54:19.482
closer to the ground , so it's a more

54:19.482 --> 54:21.149
difficult from an atmospheric

54:21.149 --> 54:23.316
perspective . Um , but then the Army ,

54:23.316 --> 54:25.427
ours is kind of complicated on both .

54:25.427 --> 54:27.427
We got to put these on small mobile

54:27.427 --> 54:29.649
expeditionary platforms , and we by far

54:29.649 --> 54:31.816
have the dirtiest air . Uh , and OSD ,

54:31.816 --> 54:33.593
the OSD R&E team that's kind of

54:33.593 --> 54:35.871
managing the directed energy portfolio ,

54:35.871 --> 54:37.927
also working heavily with SNDC who's

54:37.927 --> 54:40.038
done this work for our , for our army

54:40.038 --> 54:42.149
for , for decades , has really helped

54:42.149 --> 54:44.149
kind of keep us synchronized across

54:44.149 --> 54:48.030
services . Thanks . OK , thank you , uh .

54:49.070 --> 54:52.489
Can you discuss how Rickto Uh ,

54:52.500 --> 54:54.899
evaluate potential technologies and

54:54.899 --> 54:57.100
processes that you use for that .

54:58.260 --> 55:01.739
So , so technologies , um ,

55:02.350 --> 55:04.517
I , I would say that's , that's driven

55:04.517 --> 55:06.406
from above . So when I talk about

55:06.406 --> 55:08.572
authorities , we're , we're not an S&T

55:08.572 --> 55:10.683
shop where we go out looking for good

55:10.683 --> 55:12.517
ideas . Uh , I'm waiting for our

55:12.517 --> 55:14.739
leaders to come up with a problem set .

55:14.739 --> 55:16.850
You know , as , as our chief , as our

55:16.850 --> 55:18.961
secretary , as all our senior leaders

55:18.961 --> 55:18.340
traverse around and see the rest of the

55:18.340 --> 55:20.284
army where they see problems , I'm

55:20.284 --> 55:22.810
looking for those ideas of , of where

55:22.810 --> 55:25.032
there's a gap . When we give that gap ,

55:25.032 --> 55:27.189
we reach out to industry , usually we

55:27.189 --> 55:29.909
do that with our VAA process , start to

55:29.909 --> 55:32.131
solicit some some information papers or

55:32.131 --> 55:34.298
some white papers on how might be some

55:34.298 --> 55:36.360
solutions to get after it . Uh , the

55:36.360 --> 55:38.582
type of requirements that we get aren't

55:38.582 --> 55:40.360
written to a level of technical

55:40.360 --> 55:42.416
specificity that I think necessarily

55:42.416 --> 55:44.582
constrains industry , which oftentimes

55:44.582 --> 55:46.582
we get into , and I understand that

55:46.582 --> 55:48.749
process , but allows us to really look

55:48.749 --> 55:50.860
at innovative ideas across this , and

55:50.860 --> 55:52.749
that's what how we evaluate those

55:52.749 --> 55:54.840
different technologies . It's , it's

55:54.840 --> 55:56.896
not at the point where our threshold

55:56.896 --> 55:59.215
and objective requirements are . are

55:59.215 --> 56:02.215
lined out to the 3rd decimal level in a

56:02.215 --> 56:04.415
specific area , but really looking at

56:04.415 --> 56:06.637
what do we have to have to provide this

56:06.637 --> 56:08.804
capability ? What's the growth path of

56:08.804 --> 56:10.971
that technology to the future and what

56:10.971 --> 56:12.971
can we do in a very short period of

56:12.971 --> 56:15.604
time to prove out the validity of this

56:15.604 --> 56:17.695
technology to meet a war fighter's

56:17.695 --> 56:20.094
needs and I'm blessed to have the

56:20.094 --> 56:22.094
opportunity to , hey , if something

56:22.094 --> 56:24.261
doesn't work out . I , I don't take it

56:24.261 --> 56:26.316
personally . My team doesn't take it

56:26.316 --> 56:28.483
personally , you know , we are allowed

56:28.483 --> 56:30.705
to fail and , and that's something that

56:30.705 --> 56:32.650
that we as an army , especially as

56:32.650 --> 56:34.705
we're testing new technology , we've

56:34.705 --> 56:36.816
got to get more comfortable with that

56:36.816 --> 56:38.927
construct . It's OK to fail sometimes

56:38.927 --> 56:41.150
the . Greatest idea in the world , even

56:41.150 --> 56:40.860
if it's built exactly like we

56:40.860 --> 56:42.804
envisioned it , you give it to the

56:42.804 --> 56:45.082
soldier and he goes , Yeah , no thanks ,

56:45.139 --> 56:47.139
and it ends up in the Connach , and

56:47.139 --> 56:49.139
then we pay for sustainment of that

56:49.139 --> 56:51.195
thing in the Connach for the next 10

56:51.195 --> 56:53.417
years . We can't afford to do that . If

56:53.417 --> 56:53.100
the soldier is not going to use it .

56:54.139 --> 56:56.300
Send it back to S&T maybe needs to be

56:56.300 --> 56:58.540
better or just divest of it . Uh , and

56:58.540 --> 57:00.762
that's what I think the chief and the ,

57:00.762 --> 57:02.929
and the secretary are saying when they

57:02.929 --> 57:05.040
say , hey , we're now no longer going

57:05.040 --> 57:06.929
to dive invest in things that are

57:06.929 --> 57:09.151
either outdated , you know , not useful

57:09.151 --> 57:11.959
or or inefficient . OK , can you

57:11.959 --> 57:14.237
discuss some of the , along that lines ,

57:14.237 --> 57:16.639
can you discuss some of the ideas that

57:16.639 --> 57:19.159
were not successful or transition to a

57:19.159 --> 57:21.320
program and , and maybe just focus on

57:21.320 --> 57:23.879
explaining what the challenges were and

57:23.879 --> 57:25.712
uh what were some of the lessons

57:25.712 --> 57:27.712
learned ? Uh , I , I , I could talk

57:27.712 --> 57:29.935
about a lot of those as I first came to

57:29.935 --> 57:32.050
RTO , um , we had , we had our big 3

57:32.050 --> 57:34.272
strategic efforts that I talked about .

57:34.272 --> 57:36.272
We had a variety of smaller efforts

57:36.272 --> 57:38.439
that were based on industry innovation

57:38.439 --> 57:40.439
days , and I was getting briefed on

57:40.439 --> 57:42.550
some of those . These are 1 to 2 year

57:42.550 --> 57:44.606
efforts we bring in . Small business

57:44.606 --> 57:46.772
they would pitch an idea almost like a

57:46.772 --> 57:48.772
kind of quasi shark tank thing . We

57:48.772 --> 57:50.939
would turn a contract really quickly .

57:50.939 --> 57:53.106
We put them to work , we'd get those ,

57:53.106 --> 57:52.945
we'd get them to a unit to test and

57:52.945 --> 57:55.167
evaluate , and some of those worked and

57:55.167 --> 57:57.223
some of those some of those didn't .

57:57.485 --> 58:00.685
Some of those were larger systems .

58:02.639 --> 58:05.219
Complete systems , I'll say like detach

58:05.219 --> 58:07.520
grownup capability uh was one of them

58:07.520 --> 58:09.709
that comes to mind . An interesting

58:09.709 --> 58:11.840
technology for providing a , uh

58:11.840 --> 58:14.469
adducted fan , small , compact size ,

58:14.520 --> 58:16.760
UAS , uh , they could go inside

58:16.760 --> 58:18.982
buildings . Um , and you could run into

58:18.982 --> 58:21.038
the walls and everything else and it

58:21.038 --> 58:23.093
would crash on the floor . You could

58:23.093 --> 58:25.316
move it into a building , you could put

58:25.316 --> 58:27.427
it on the ground , it could provide ,

58:27.427 --> 58:29.538
uh , you know , continuous perch kind

58:29.538 --> 58:31.427
of ISR capability . You could fly

58:31.427 --> 58:33.593
upstairs . It can help you map out the

58:33.593 --> 58:35.704
building and amazing technology . But

58:35.704 --> 58:37.316
guess what ? ducted fans are

58:37.316 --> 58:39.679
traditionally very loud . Uh , the way

58:39.679 --> 58:41.290
that design works from a UAS

58:41.290 --> 58:43.235
perspective , and nothing says I'm

58:43.235 --> 58:45.457
about to come in and take your building

58:45.457 --> 58:47.568
down like the big noise of a freaking

58:47.568 --> 58:49.735
fan coming up and down the hall . So ,

58:49.735 --> 58:51.901
so the technology as advertised worked

58:51.901 --> 58:54.012
great , but when we gave gifts to the

58:54.012 --> 58:56.068
soldiers , there's work . And I know

58:56.068 --> 58:58.179
that that capability will continue to

58:58.179 --> 58:58.139
be evolved . Maybe there will be some

58:58.139 --> 59:00.830
new ways of doing it . The concept was

59:00.830 --> 59:02.941
very good and very strong , but as we

59:02.941 --> 59:05.310
took it to a number of evaluations , it

59:05.310 --> 59:07.532
didn't transition directly to a program

59:07.532 --> 59:09.643
of record that's still on the shelf ,

59:09.643 --> 59:11.989
still being looked at , and obviously

59:11.989 --> 59:13.711
looking to where there's other

59:13.711 --> 59:15.933
investment requirements that might help

59:15.933 --> 59:17.989
it make better , but we've looked at

59:17.989 --> 59:20.211
everything from nano batteries for some

59:20.211 --> 59:22.550
of the micro UAVs to take the Hornet ,

59:22.629 --> 59:25.209
the Blackhornet . Increase its time by

59:25.209 --> 59:27.510
2 , those technologies , those have

59:27.510 --> 59:29.621
transitioned , but you're never going

59:29.621 --> 59:31.566
to hear about it into a program of

59:31.566 --> 59:33.788
record , but advancing the state of the

59:33.788 --> 59:35.899
battery cells of that battery to then

59:35.899 --> 59:38.066
feed to the PM so he can buy batteries

59:38.066 --> 59:40.121
to field to the soldiers , those are

59:40.121 --> 59:40.110
some of the efforts that don't get the

59:40.110 --> 59:41.999
press , the hypersonic weapon , a

59:41.999 --> 59:44.054
direct energy weapon , but those are

59:44.054 --> 59:46.166
the types of things that the team has

59:46.166 --> 59:48.989
has focused on . Some fall beneath that

59:48.989 --> 59:52.429
space in between . So a technology .

59:52.939 --> 59:55.272
Uh , it looks like a big lawn dart , uh ,

59:55.272 --> 59:57.495
that you can , you know , dispense from

59:57.495 --> 59:59.661
a munition and flights . You can carry

59:59.661 --> 01:00:01.828
all sorts of different payloads , go a

01:00:01.828 --> 01:00:03.828
long way , fall into an interesting

01:00:03.828 --> 01:00:05.717
place , you know , create noise ,

01:00:05.717 --> 01:00:07.995
create jamming , those types of things .

01:00:07.995 --> 01:00:09.995
Um , great technology , but when we

01:00:09.995 --> 01:00:12.209
went to transition . Who owns the

01:00:12.209 --> 01:00:14.431
requirement for that ? Is this , say an

01:00:14.431 --> 01:00:17.649
IUWS kind of requirement ? Is this a PO

01:00:17.649 --> 01:00:19.705
missiles and space requirement for a

01:00:19.705 --> 01:00:21.982
missile ? Is this a cannon requirement ?

01:00:21.982 --> 01:00:24.038
So there's a technology that doesn't

01:00:24.038 --> 01:00:26.205
cleanly fit in some of those buckets ,

01:00:26.205 --> 01:00:28.482
and we continue to work to try to find .

01:00:28.482 --> 01:00:30.705
It's a great capability , but trying to

01:00:30.705 --> 01:00:32.929
find a home for it is is one of the

01:00:32.929 --> 01:00:35.096
challenges . And I think when you look

01:00:35.096 --> 01:00:38.129
at what the chief and the secretary are

01:00:38.129 --> 01:00:40.399
trying to get us into . Uh , from a

01:00:40.399 --> 01:00:42.343
budget perspective , so how are we

01:00:42.343 --> 01:00:44.510
looking at our budgeting , um , within

01:00:44.510 --> 01:00:46.566
this continuous transformation ? You

01:00:46.566 --> 01:00:48.510
hear the chief secretary or senior

01:00:48.510 --> 01:00:50.677
leaders talking about flexible funding

01:00:50.677 --> 01:00:52.843
and , and really what they , what they

01:00:52.843 --> 01:00:54.899
want from our world's perspective is

01:00:54.899 --> 01:00:56.955
the ability to get away from program

01:00:56.955 --> 01:00:59.919
centric funding to capability centric

01:00:59.919 --> 01:01:03.120
funding and the agility to move money

01:01:03.120 --> 01:01:06.399
to support technologies or systems that

01:01:06.399 --> 01:01:08.635
can meet requirements . across across

01:01:08.635 --> 01:01:10.802
capability , but the funding , the way

01:01:10.802 --> 01:01:13.145
it's done today , it's aligned to a

01:01:13.145 --> 01:01:15.312
program and whatever is in that R form

01:01:15.312 --> 01:01:17.367
or that P form is the only way to be

01:01:17.367 --> 01:01:19.256
used . So systems like I was just

01:01:19.256 --> 01:01:21.089
talking about , I forgot the the

01:01:21.089 --> 01:01:23.256
technical name from it uh for it , but

01:01:23.256 --> 01:01:25.201
a system like that , that's one of

01:01:25.201 --> 01:01:27.256
those where I could go . To somebody

01:01:27.256 --> 01:01:29.367
who actually had flexible funding and

01:01:29.367 --> 01:01:31.589
say , hey , here's a thing that I think

01:01:31.589 --> 01:01:33.756
solves a hard problem , and we can get

01:01:33.756 --> 01:01:33.639
the requirement written very quickly

01:01:33.639 --> 01:01:35.861
for you to execute it and they ought to

01:01:35.861 --> 01:01:37.972
be able to free up funding to support

01:01:37.972 --> 01:01:39.917
it . So so that's all part of this

01:01:39.917 --> 01:01:41.639
overall , you know , continual

01:01:41.639 --> 01:01:43.861
continuous army transformation campaign

01:01:43.861 --> 01:01:46.083
where I think if it pays dividends from

01:01:46.083 --> 01:01:48.139
a budgeting perspective we can see a

01:01:48.139 --> 01:01:51.649
lot of progress quickly . I'm getting

01:01:51.649 --> 01:01:53.989
the hook . OK team , thank you so much .

01:02:01.590 --> 01:02:03.899
Thank you , everybody . Um , we have

01:02:03.909 --> 01:02:05.965
about 20 minutes for a break . We're

01:02:05.965 --> 01:02:08.020
gonna set up for our next panel , so

01:02:08.020 --> 01:02:09.310
we'll see you back here at 10:30 .