Document · 17 April 2024
Hearing transcript: Department of the Air Force FY2025 budget request — House Armed Services Committee (April 17, 2024)
The official printed record of the House Armed Services Committee's hearing of 17 April 2024 on the Department of the Air Force's fiscal year 2025 budget request, with Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin and Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman.
It is filed here for one exchange: Rep. Rob Wittman raised the December 2023 drone incursions that forced operations at Langley Air Force Base to shut down, and asked who is responsible for defending air bases against small drones. Kendall's answer dealt with threats to bases overseas and the Army-led air base defence study, without mentioning Langley.
Source: U.S. Government Publishing Office, via Congress.gov (local copy)
Facts and claims
- documented Rep. Rob Wittman told Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall: “We saw recently a very disturbing trend at Langley Air Force Base, where because of a large number of UASs that were in that airspace, Langley had to close down just to make sure that we were able to defend the operations that were going on there,” and asked whether Air Force bases are adequately protected. Source: doc-transcript-2024-04-17-hasc-air-force.pdf
- documented In reply Kendall described threats to air bases by theater, chiefly Chinese missiles in the Pacific and small UAVs in the Middle East and Europe, said the Army generally leads research and development on small UAVs, and that the Air Force is “not where we need to be yet”. He did not address the Langley incursions. — Frank Kendall Source: doc-transcript-2024-04-17-hasc-air-force.pdf
Key moments: House Armed Services Committee: Department of the Air Force FY2025 budget request (April 17, 2024)
- 48:30 Rob Wittman: Rep. Rob Wittman asks Secretary Kendall about counter-drone capability at Air Force bases: “We saw recently a very disturbing trend at Langley Air Force Base, where because of a large number of UASs that were in that airspace, Langley had to close down.”
- 49:42 Frank Kendall: Kendall answers with threats to air bases by theater: Chinese precision, ballistic, cruise and hypersonic missiles in the Pacific, small UAVs in the Middle East and Europe. He does not mention Langley.
Connected files
Incidents
- Langley AFB drone incursions (documents)
People
- Frank Kendall (features) — Rep. Wittman asked Kendall about the drones that closed Langley; his answer did not mention Langley
Videos
- House Armed Services Committee: Department of the Air Force FY2025 budget request (April 17, 2024) (transcript of)
Mentioned in this file
- Rob Wittman (Person)
- Langley Air Force Base (Place)
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