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Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. President, I rise to highlight an issue concerning the industrial base that supports the strategic TRIAD. Currently the Air Force is developing the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent or GBSD. This will be the Nation's new land-based intercontinental ballistic missile and will replace the venerable Minuteman Three. Nearly 50 years ago, when Minuteman was built, there were five companies capable of producing large solid rocket motors. The industrial base that produces large solid rocket motors for the Nation's strategic TRIAD has shrunk to two, and if the GBSD program is not handled carefully, it could soon shrink to one. With each new missile likely to have three large solid rocket motors, it is important to maintain multiple companies that can produce them.
This problem was clearly identified in April 2018 when the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment released the Department of Defense's Annual Industrial Capabilities Report. I would encourage my colleagues to go read the entire report for themselves. The report can be found at http://www.businessdefense.gov/Portals/51/Documents/ Resources/2017%20AIC%20RTC%2005-17-2018%20- %20Public%20Release.pdf?ver=2018-05-17-224631-340.
The report is quite lengthy; however, I would like to read one paragraph from page 85, which accurately synopsizes the lack of oversight of the large solid rocket motor industrial base: ``Maintaining a healthy and competitive solid rocket motor industrial base is also of concern to the Department. Solid rocket motors for tactical missiles are produced in a nearly even split between the two domestic suppliers, Orbital ATK and Aerojet Rocketdyne. However, in the very near future all the large solid rocket motors for strategic missiles and space launch will be produced by Orbital ATK.
Aerojet Rocketdyne has managed to maintain their large solid rocket motor capability for now with production of the boosters for the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V space launch vehicle, and small development investments from the GBSD program. But ULA has chosen Orbital ATK's boosters to replace Aerojet Rocketdyne's on Atlas and future launch vehicles, leaving Aerojet Rocketdyne with no large solid rocket motor production. Aerojet Rocketdyne has chosen to close their Sacramento large solid rocket motor production facility.
While they have plans to reconstitute this capability at their Camden facility, they may not do so if they are not part of the winning team for GBSD, producing at least one solid rocket motor stage. This potentially leaves the United States with a single large solid rocket motor supplier, which can lead to cost increases due to lack of competition, decreases in internal research and development efforts, and risk of security of supply if a catastrophic accident should occur.''
I am very concerned about what the Under Secretary has revealed in this report. I believe that the Nation must avoid a monopoly provider situation for the very reasons stated in the report. As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I believe that we have a duty to be proper stewards of the defense industrial base, both for our current warfighters and for those who will follow. This is an issue that I will continue to monitor, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.
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Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. President, I want to take a second to thank Senator Inhofe and Senator Reed and their staffs for all of their hard work on getting us to this point on the Defense authorization bill, which is so very important.
Through the European Deterrence Initiative, we have made important progress in preparing U.S. forces and allies to address Russian threats to American interests and the international order that protects them.
I was just in Poland visiting U.S. forces with Senators Inhofe, Capito, and Enzi. We saw firsthand the work they are doing to preposition equipment and to establish the necessary footprint to sustain operations.
The NDAA contains a provision that would require the Secretary of Defense to conduct an assessment of the feasibility and advisability of permanently stationing a U.S. Army brigade combat team in Poland. This amendment would require a report to accompany the assessment, detailing the requirements for combat enablers to deter aggression by Russia and to execute the Department of Defense's contingency plans. Combat enablers are the essential noncombat force that helps to maintain our defense posture around the globe.
I urge my colleagues to support this amendment as the Senate continues to play its oversight role to ensure that we defend our interests and our allies in Europe against Russian aggression.
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