To watch Senator Capito’s questioning, click here or the image above.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, today questioned U.S. Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall, U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Brown Jr., and U.S. Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman on the branches’ budget requests for Fiscal Year 2024.

During the hearing, Senator Capito acknowledged the leaders for prioritizing the tactical data link upgrade of the West Virginia Air National Guard’s C-130J fleet, which would provide greater situational awareness in combat environments.  Senator Capito also acknowledged the leaders for working to equip existing C-17 aircraft in West Virginia with long-range fuel tanks in order to cover greater distances in the event of military conflict in the Indo-Pacific.

In addition to her questions, Senator Capito expressed her concern with the recent leak of classified military documents.

HIGHLIGHTS:

UPGRADING WV AIR NATIONAL GUARD C-130 TACTICAL DATA LINKS:

SEN. CAPITO: “As you know, the conversion of the Air National Guard C-130 units to the J models has been ongoing, and I'm pleased to say that I've seen the impressive J model myself while visiting the West Virginia Air National Guard's 130th Airlift Wing and in my hometown of Charleston. But they made us aware that the aircraft our guard units are receiving may be behind some of the modification processes for tactical data link capabilities, an upgrade that's necessary to integrate with the rest of the joint force if we found ourselves in a combat environment. I'm wondering, does the fiscal year 2024 budget address this tactical data link deficiency?”

SEC. KENDALL: “I believe it does. I think we're doing that. There was a period of time over which we're going to do that with some of the fleet. I can get the details of that to you for the record though.”

THE IMPORTANCE OF TACTICAL DATA LINKS:

SEN. CAPITO: “General Brown, how does improving that tactical data link, what kind of difference does that make in a combat environment and how important is that?”

GEN. BROWN: “What a tactical data link does— it really increases the situational awareness for the air group. So they have not only a better sense of where they are, but a better sense of the other activities going on around the aircraft and how they can help contribute to the mission. And so having flown with tactical data links in fighters personally, it really does help your situational awareness to have a good understanding what's going on in the environment.”

RECENTLY LEAKED MILITARY DOCUMENTS:

SEN. CAPITO: “We're concerned about the damage that's been done. But I mean, I think we need to look forward here… there's a lot of discouraging things about it. But for me, I was just sitting here thinking about it, thinking it's almost like it was a game. You know, it was a, you know, you're in this chat room with supposedly, with small, small amounts of people. And you know, all this kind of chatter is not a game. You're endangering lives. You're endangering, you know, freedoms, just eroding trust. And so I think that is one aspect of it that is incomprehensible, I think, to many of us.”

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