Notes on Army Modernization and Budget

Both the Secretary and General agree that operating under a full-year CR would disadvantage the Army.
A stable budget is crucial for effective operation and planning.

Sustained support for Ukraine is critical, with allies like Taiwan and the Philippines closely monitoring the U.S.'s commitment in the face of Russian aggression.
The U.S.'s reliability as a partner is under scrutiny.

Incident: Reference to the death of three Army Reservists at Tower 22 in Jordan due to a low-cost Iranian drone.
Issue: Lack of effective and deployed C-UAS systems at the time of the incident.
Budget Allocation: Increased spending on C-UAS capabilities in the FY26 budget request.
Strategy: Adopting agile funding to procure capabilities instead of specific programs of record due to rapidly evolving technology.
Silicon Valley Partnership: Leveraging partnerships to accelerate the deployment and defense capabilities against UAS.
Counter UAS Tactics:
- Drone-on-drone engagement as a C-UAS method.
- Focusing transformation initiatives on C-UAS.
- Joint force-wide approach to countering drones.
Testing and Exercises:
- Conducting tests outside traditional areas like White Sands, including direct deployments to the Middle East.
- Flytrap Exercise: A large-scale exercise in Europe to integrate sensors, data layers, and kinetic/non-kinetic effectors.
Cost Curve: Aiming to address the cost curve associated with countering UAS threats.
Technology: Exploring directed energy, laser, kinetic, and EW systems for C-UAS.

Need for Change: Acknowledgment of the necessity for the Army to modernize its fighting methods to adapt to technological changes.
Lack of Detailed Analysis: Concern that the committee has not received detailed analysis regarding the cancellation or reduction of 12 programs, consolidation of commands, and the impact on battlefield lethality following the announcement of the Army Transformation Initiative.
Request for Briefing: The committee requests a detailed briefing on the ATI to make informed decisions.
Timeline: The Army commits to providing detailed information within ten days.
Financial Impact: The ATI involves $48,000,000,000$ in spending over five years that the Army deems no longer relevant.
Decision Making: The decision-making process for ATI was kept narrow, involving the Pentagon leadership and the administration, to avoid resistance to change.
Consultation: Consultation with other services occurred the night before the announcement and shortly after it went live.
Joint Force Integration: The Army war fighting concept is aligned with the joint war fighting concept.
Lethality and Preparedness: The Army aims to enhance its lethality and preparedness for the joint force through the ATI.

The Secretary of Defense has not directed the Army to withdraw any echelons from Europe.