Press Releases

WASHINGTON—Today, Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01), Vice Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee and the Ranking Member of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, weighed in on the Navy’s recently unveiled Unmanned Campaign Plan, stating: 

“Unmanned systems are here to stay and will continue taking an increasingly prominent role, providing the flexibility our Navy needs to fight and win the wars of tomorrow. It is exciting to see this process underway, but we must focus on getting this right rather than doing this too quickly. 

“To get this right, we must resolve the technical and operational issues with a few of these vessels before entering full production. If that sounds commonsense, it is.

“Yet, we have been here before, rushing into the full development and production of a promising new platform too soon. It always proves a costly mistake, and we cannot afford to make that same mistake again.  

“We must work out these new platforms’ required capabilities and operational concepts before they enter full development. Simply put, the Navy must show they can meet the critical milestones and understand these platforms’ roles before we invest taxpayer money into the vessels’ full production.” 

Congressman Rob Wittman represents the 1st District of Virginia. He serves on the House Natural Resources Committee and the House Armed Services Committee, where he serves as the Vice Ranking Member of the full Committee and Ranking Member of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee.