The nominee to become the next chief of staff of the Air Force will toe the service line that releasing the contract award value of the B-21 strategic bomber would provide information to potential adversaries, even as he promised transparency to a congressional panel.
During a confirmation hearing on Thursday, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) peppered Gen. David Goldfein with a series of rhetorical questions about the Air Force’s release on information on the bomber contract held by Northrop Grumman [NOC].
McCain had Goldfein confirm that the service has released its independent cost estimate associated with the B-21 winning bid — $23.5 billion – and the aircraft per-unit cost associated with the winning bid — about $556 million – along with the list of Northrop Grumman’s supplier base and an artist’s rendering of the aircraft. Goldfein acknowledged that all that is true.
“I’m having a difficult time understanding how the public disclosure of a single contract award value funded from an unclassified budget request is going to give the enemy more information on the capabilities of a new bomber than what the Air Force has already disclosed,” McCain then asked. “All I can see is that keeping it a secret deprives the American taxpayer the transparency and accountability they deserve.”
Goldfein was asked to explain what new information a potential adversary could glean from the value of the engineering and manufacturing development contract awarded to Northrop Grumman. In his oral testimony, Goldfein seemed to agree with McCain’s assessment that the horse is out of the barn.
“Chairman, I agree with you,” Goldfein said. “I believe that if we are not transparent with the American people on the cost of this weapon system through its elected leadership, then we have a good chance of losing this program.”
McCain, who has been the loudest opponent of the Air Force’s decision to shroud the contract value in secrecy, quickly thanked Goldfein for his response.
That statement seems to contradict Goldfein’s written testimony, submitted for the record before Thursday’s hearing, except for the careful mention of notifying the public “through its elected leadership,” which indicates he is willing to provide details to lawmakers, who can then decide whether to pass them on.
The Air Force, in a statement clarifying his remarks, said Goldfein is committed to balancing transparency with security and that information that could provide an adversary with classified information on the aircraft would be made available to Congress behind closed doors.
“Maintaining the classification of the B-21 program Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) contract value is critical in order to protect vital information and capabilities between the cost of an air vehicle and its total weight, thus making it decisively easier for our adversaries to calculate the aircraft capabilities and develop countermeasures,” Goldfein’s written testimony stated.
In October 2015, the Air Force publicly released its independent cost estimate of $23.5 billion in base year 2016, which characterizes the total estimated B-21 development costs.
“This independent estimate, required by the Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009, is based on historical costs associated with this class of weapon system and includes average level of program risks,” Goldfein wrote. “Additionally, the independent estimate represents the service cost position, which is used to develop the Air Force Fiscal Year Defense Program budget.”