wednesday morning, we are live in bismarck, north dakota, for the next stop on the c-span bus 50 capital tour. the governor be -- will be our guest on the bus starting at 9:30 am, eastern. >> defense department officials discuss military technology and research at a hearing of the house and services committee. witnesses answered questions about the acquisition process, for new defense technology, and research into artificial intelligence, hypersonic wetness -- weapons, and military drones. this 2 our hearing -- our hearing -- 22 -- hour hearing . come to order. for the last three national

defense authorization act reform, especially acquisition acts reform, has been a major priority. the purpose is to get more value for the taxpayers, and more importantly, to make the department more agile in dealing with the variety of security challenges we face. the secretary has testified our technological position has eroded compared with our leading adversaries. we confront threats that do not conform to our traditional notions of warfare. and the historical evidence that -- indicates that we may be a victim of our own success. as one person put it, the losers were forced by events to re-examine everything. military losers are intellectual radicals. the winners, complacent a victory, feel the need for self- examination far less. the answer is the department of

defense must work to be more innovative in technology, and policies, and and thought. one of the many books offering advice to businesses sums it up with a chapter titled that is innovate or die. that has been the goal of the reforms in recent years, and other reform proposals for the bill that i am releasing today. we are privileged to have two witnesses who are per -- superbly qualified to help guide our efforts as well as those of the department in the quest to develop a culture of innovation. one of the reforms we enacted two years ago was to create an undersecretary for research and engineering, to be the primary driver of innovation in the department. dr. michael griffin was confirmed in that position about two months ago, and among other things, is the former administrator of nasa. dr. schmidt is the former chairman and chief executive

officer of google where he remains a chief technical advisor. . we are very grateful to have both of you here, i might alert members that after this open hearing, we will reconvene in a classified session to go into greater detail about some of these issues. let me, at this point, yield to the gentle lady from california who is the acting ranking member. thank you mr. chairman, and i will enter the chairman's statement into the record. appreciate the chairman's calling into this hearing, on the need for more innovation technology and development. we are honored to have both of you here today, as witnesses for this critically important talk it -- topic.

we have been talking about it for a long time. but, actually addressing it in a way that is going to continue to make a difference is part of what we want to see happen. maintaining a culture of innovation does matter. innovation ensures service members have the technology and edge they need, innovation has the power to win tomorrow's wars. we must continue to promote a culture of openness, looking for new ways to do things. being willing to be able to accept the risk, and trying something different. and constantly looking ahead rather than behind. but, we also know that the department of defense cannot go it alone. they must work with the private sector and academia. also important are our investments in s.t.e.m.

education programs to develop talent and future tech leaders with policies that promote an environment in which global public institutions and industry can thrive. i have an opportunity to meet with dr. schmidt and i want to thank you because it provides really healthy for us and how we continue to do many of these that we have been working on but also build an architecture that's going to bring us into the future and certainly respond to the needs of the men and women who go to war on behalf of our country. i am looking forward to hearing your testimony today. thank you. yield the floor. >> without objection both of your witnesses statements will

be made a part of the record. i do want to comment, dr. griffin, that nobody has read yours because we just got it and i realize that when you are an administration official it has to be cleared by all of these different levels, it's important for those involved in getting us written statements and getting them timely. again nobody has read your statement because i think it just came in at some point. it is a good summary of our acquisition problems. you have all of these layers of people that have to provide something and it takes a lot of time. maybe that is an appropriate analogy for the innovation topic, today. we are grateful to both of you for being here, and dr. -- dr. griffin, the floor is yours. >> thank you. first of all, my apologies, the statement is late. and the error is mine. no other excuse is permissible. so, moving forward.

chairman, ranking member smith, acting ranking member davis, and members of the committee, i do appreciate your entering my written statement into the record. i want to thank you for the opportunity to discuss ways that we as the department of defense can foster a culture of innovation throughout the engineering enterprise. the reality is that we live in a time of global access to technology, and global access to scientific talent. that is no longer preeminently concentrated here in america. the air, land, sea, and space domains have taken on technological advances, throughout the world. these advances, coupled with adversary -- adversaries, that

present -- at present far outstrips our own pace, presents a challenge to forces operating around the globe. it is this erosion of this technological superiority that led to the establishment of the position i now hold. our mission is to ensure that we maintain our technological edge. i am honored to be here today. i am indeed concerned. in a world that now has equal access to technology, innovation will remain important , always, but speed becomes the differentiating factor.

greater speed, in translating technology into field capability, is where we can achieve and maintain our technological edge. we must seek innovation in technology and processes. i look forward to instilling within the department, a culture that embraces a more agile approach to development. both small and large businesses have given us military capabilities that we enjoy today. and that will give us the ones that we need in the future. the department is addressing critical technologies through

accommodations of existing systems, and the development of introduction -- and introduction of new technologies into our labs, and centers, and other entities. the department continues to push the on -- envelope, with research into new technologies such as autonomous, unmanned systems, artificial intelligence, machine learning, biotechnology, space technology, electronics, and cyber offense and defense. these technology areas are not just important to the department, they are the focus of global industry. we are focused not just on technological innovation, but also upon pursuing new practices and organizational structures to support this culture of innovation. earlier this year, the deputy secretary of defense said everybody wants innovation, but innovation is messy. that the department is really going to succeed, we are going

to get comfortable with mistakes.