Chairman Calvert, Ranking Member McCollum, (Chairman Cole, Ranking Member DeLauro), and distinguished members of the committee good morning and thank you for the opportunity to testify on the posture of the United States Navy.

I am honored to be joined by Acting Secretary of the Navy Cao, and General Smith.

We appreciate the Committee’s steadfast support for our Sailors, Marines, civilian workforce, and their families as well as for the resources you provide to defend our Nation.

This past year, our Navy celebrated 250 years of American seapower.

Today, our founding fathers would scarcely recognize the modern Fleet – ballistic missile submarines deterring strategic attack, nuclear-powered aircraft carriers projecting power across the globe, and an all-domain naval force delivering precision lethality at scale.

And while the platforms have changed, one truth has not – the Sailor remains our greatest competitive advantage and the heartbeat of our Fleet.

This July, on our Nation’s 250th birthday, our Sailors will carry that legacy forward wherever our Nation requires presence, power, and resolve.

Since assuming the duties of Chief of Naval Operations, I have been focused on one central objective: ensuring the Navy never loses its differentiated value.

In February, we released the United States Navy Fighting Instructions, which is designed to operationalize my priorities of Foundry, Fleet, and Fight and provide clear guidance on how we will build, generate, and employ naval combat power for the conflicts we must be prepared to win.

These instructions reflect a simple reality – the Navy’s value lies in our ability to generate decisive combat power from the sea with tailorable formations, sustain them forward, and deliver lethal effects across every domain, at the time and place of our choosing – globally.

Operation Epic Fury is proving in real time what the Navy delivers: forward, persistent combat power from the sea – sovereign options – independent of basing, resilient under pressure, and able to strike decisively. That is our differentiated value on full display.

To preserve that advantage, we are executing a Hedge Strategy to ensure the Fleet we build today is ready for the fight we face now and adaptable and scalable to the one we face tomorrow.

That strategy is realized through the Golden Fleet initiative – a Fleet design that blends high- and lower-end combatants, integrates robotic and autonomous systems, and enables scalable formations to outpace emerging threats.

This approach increases our ability to scale combat mass, distribute risk, and maintain escalation dominance against the operational challenges our Combatant Commanders face globally.

It also requires integrating technologies like artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, directed energy, and containerized systems as operational capabilities that expand reach, persistence, and lethality across our kill chains and kill webs.

Our FY-27 budget request is strategy-driven and aligned to the Department of the Navy’s priorities and the objectives of the National Defense Strategy, leveraging the concepts outlined in the United States Navy Fighting Instructions to ensure our investments directly strengthen the Foundry, the Fleet, and the way we Fight.

It reflects disciplined choices to ensure we – first, always field a credible and highly effective sea-based strategic deterrent, and second, we invest in the right capabilities that preserve our warfighting advantage.

To do that, we focus on four priorities:

Sailors First. Quality of Service is not a luxury – it underwrites combat readiness and must always be our first priority.

Second – The Foundry. The Foundry is where combat power is forged, and we must not use it as a bill payer. A hollow foundry results in a hollow Navy.

Third – The Fleet. The Fleet is the most flexible and decisive military instrument of national power. Therefore, we must field the right mix of forces to realize the Golden Fleet’s full potential through a smart application of the Hedge Strategy.

And Fourth – The Fight. Winning will depend on the strength and adaptability of our kill chains and kill webs.

From robust counter targeting to leveraging new stealth technologies to an abundance of longer-range munitions to enhanced mission command, we must integrate and synchronize our capabilities seamlessly with our Joint Force teammates, our partners, and our allies.

It is the honor of my lifetime to serve as your Chief of Naval Operations.

With your continued partnership, we will ensure the United States Navy remains the most capable, most ready, and most lethal maritime force in the world.

I look forward to your questions. Thank you.