'That Is Very Troubling To Me': Collins Raises Alarm Bells Over China's Fleet Exceeding The U.S.'s

Added: 2026-05-28

[00:00:00]Um, in light of the briefing we have this morning, I want to thank my Democratic colleagues for also being accommodating. Um, Secretary Kahl, uh, Secretary Heck Seck, just recently has described destroyers as being the backbone of the fleet. Uh, the fiscal year 27 budget request, however, includes funding for only one DDG 51 compared to two in fiscal year 26 and three in fiscal year 25. Such a reduction would send a troubling signal to the industrial base at a time when the Navy continues to emphasize the need for greater fleet capability and resiliency.

[00:00:56]Bath Iron Works in Maine, which is one of only two surface combatants uh, shipyards in the country, has made real progress in workforce retention and accelerating production stability due to the steady command the steady demand signal.

[00:01:21]Based on the future year defense plan, how can we sustain the current production of one be sufficient to sustain both shipyards and the supplier base without restoring a stable two DDG per year procurements? And I would mention that when you start contrasting uh, the size of our fleet with China's, it should be of great alarm to all of us. China now fields the Navy approaching 400 ships and is expanding its fleet at a pace that far exceeds ours. And the US Navy is down to 291 ships. That is very troubling to me and to me this is the last time that we should be cutting back on the workhorse of the fleet, the DDGs.

[00:02:25]Which by the way also have proven themselves in recent conflicts.

[00:02:34]I remember a Bath built ship shooting down every single missile that the Houthi terrorists were firing and it just is something that I can't understand the budget recommendation on.

[00:02:52]Chairwoman Collins, thank you so much for the question. I I share with you the the love of the destroyers. They are the workhorse and the backbone of the United States Navy.

[00:03:01]Right now we have 80 ships on contract and 59 in in construction in Bath alone, which Bath creates amazing ships. Like you said, they've they've been in forefront of this war and just doing amazing work there. In Bath alone we have 11 destroyers on contract, seven are in construction. We haven't even begun to cut metal for the other four yet. And so I'm just we're trying to allow the industrial base to catch up and Senator, if you want to I'll I'll go up I'll gladly go up to Bath with you to reassure the workhorse that their work is valued and we will add the ships in in future years. It's just right now I'm trying to give them the ability to to catch up to the work as as of right now, ma'am. What happens, as you well know, that these ships take a long time to construct. Although Bath is fast approaching a production rate of 1.5 ships a year, but what you create is a gap at the steel's cutting a stage, for example. If you don't have the steady throughput of ships, and that is my concern. And I would very much welcome your visit.

[00:04:14]Uh General Smith, I I want to commend the Marine Corps for its proactive approach to autonomous and unmanned capabilities as part of your broader modernization and force design. I'm encouraged by the decision to leverage existing Army investments in robotic combat vehicles and commercially available autonomy systems. Programs such as the M1 unmanned ground vehicle demonstrate a commitment to rapid experimentation and fielding emergency emerging technologies.

[00:04:56]You're clearly exploring how these platforms can support logistics, reconnaissance, counter UAS missions, and targeting, particularly in distributed Indo-Pacific operations. And we've learned a lot of lessons from Ukraine on how important autonomous and unmanned systems are in transforming the battlefield. So, I am concerned that if we wait too long and have prolonged experimentation prototyping, that that's going to delay operational capacity while our adversaries are already integrating autonomous systems into combat operations. How do you see the Marine Corps employing unmanned ground ground vehicles in the Indo-Pacific over the next 1 to 2 years?

[00:05:58]Well, ma'am, we've got a remote operational ground unit expeditionary or Rogue Nemesis Navy Marine expeditionary ship interdiction system, uh, which fires an an anti-ship missile off of a remote, uh, operated vehicle.

[00:06:11]That is our That is our commitment.

[00:06:13]That's our primary mover of that Nemesis system. We're going to continue to expand that. We're going to continue to increase our magazine depth, and we're going to continue to to look into all of the unmanned platforms. Cuz I as an infantryman, I was taught never send a Marine where you can send a bullet.

[00:06:27]>> Exactly. And I am I am fully committed to autonomy up to the to the leading edge both in drone technology and in vehicle technology. Great. Thank you.

[00:06:36]Yes, ma'am.

[00:06:37]Thank you, Mr. Chairman.