Obama’s next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff breezed through a Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing today, with senators on both side of the aisle commending his service in Afghanistan and pledging their support for his promotion.

But when it comes to his opinions on major weapons programs, Marine Commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford hewed closely to the views espoused by other service chiefs and senior Pentagon officials.

Gen. Joseph Dunford, the current commander of International Security Assistance Force-Afghanistan and U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, was nominated on June 5 to serve as the next commandant of the Marine Corps.
Gen. Joseph Dunford, the current commander of International Security Assistance Force-Afghanistan and U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, was nominated on June 5 to serve as the next commandant of the Marine Corps.

Although the topic didn’t come up during the hearing, senators grilled Dunford on the ever-controversial F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in written questions given to the nominee in advance.

Dunford characterized the jet as a critical component of U.S. plans to maintain air dominance, especially as adversary nations develop and field their own fifth generation fighters. However, he disclosed that the department has begun studying whether its almost 20-year old requirement for 2,443 planes is still valid.

“Until the analysis is complete, we need to pursue the current scheduled quantity buy to preclude creating an overall near-term tactical fighter shortfall,” he said, adding that the Pentagon is working “diligently” to cut costs on the plane.

He skirted a question asking whether he believed the military needed a dedicated close air support capability— in other words, whether Dunford would oppose Air Force plans to divest the A-10 Warthog, a single mission plane devoted to such operations.

“I believe America’s troops in close quarters battles must have effective close air support,” he replied in his written testimony. Air Force leaders have argued that could be provided by other fighter aircraft such as the F-15 and F-16.

During the hearing, Dunford was asked if he would support funding the $100 billion Ohio replacement program through the Pentagon budget instead of through Navy shipbuilding funds. Last year Congress created a National Sea Based Deterrence Fund that would allow the defense secretary to funnel non-Navy money to the program, but some lawmakers have criticized the fund as setting a bad precedent for future budgetary decisions.   

The commandant did not mention the deterrence fund by name, but indicated he would be supportive of an alternative way of procuring the subs without putting pressure on other shipbuilding programs.  

“Were we to fund the Ohio class replacement out of the Department of the Navy, it would have a pretty adverse effect on the rest of the shipbuilding plan,” Dunford replied. “I do think a broader mechanism for the Ohio replacement makes sense.”

Dunford’s views appeared to deviate most from the Pentagon drumbeat in the area of unmanned technologies. Robotics and autonomous systems are developing at a rapid pace, Dunford said. If confirmed, he would push forward the development of a Joint Concept for Robotic and Autonomous Systems that would help the services develop, field and operate unmanned platforms in a more integrated fashion.

However, he flat-out disagreed with Navy Secretary Ray Mabus’s assertion that the F-35 should be the last manned fighter procured by the service.

“I believe it is premature to rule out manned fighter aircraft without a more thorough analysis of the technologies currently available, as well as those likely to be available in the future,” Dunford said. “Decisions about future platforms should also take into consideration the threats our aircraft will face and their required missions.”

He also seemed to slightly diverge from the Navy’s approach on its future combat drone, the Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS). The current program is unpopular in Congress, with lawmakers pressing for an unmanned aerial system (UAS) that can strike targets in contested environments instead of the spy drone favored by the Navy.

While Dunford affirmed that he had concerns about the carrier air wing’s ability to project power into anti-access, area denied battlespace, he stopped short of saying that UCLASS requirements should be changed.  “That’s why it’s critical that we continue to develop concepts and capabilities that will allow us to maintain a competitive advantage in an A2/AD environment,” he said. That could mean that he supports the existing plan for later iterations of UCLASS to be able to operate in contested areas.

In the area of space, the United States must do more to enhance situational awareness and better protect space assets, Dunford wrote. He would work with the defense secretary to review U.S. efforts to counter Chinese space capabilities.

He also indicated his support for retaining all three legs of the nuclear triad: ICBMs, strategic bombers, and submarines equipped with nuclear missiles.

A major portion of the questions asked by senators today dealt with current military operations in the Middle East—including the U.S. relationship with Iran and the strategy to defeat the Islamic State extremist organization. If confirmed, Dunford said he would travel to Iraq and formulate new recommendations to push the campaign forward.

However, he ranked Russia as the greatest threat to the United States, citing its nuclear capability and aggression. China would follow because of its growing military capability and presence in the Pacific at a time when the military is becoming more interested in the region, he said.

“It’s a relationship between their capabilities and our interest,” he said. “It doesn’t necessarily mean they’re a current threat. It doesn’t mean you view China as an enemy.”

North Korea’s ballistic capability lands them as the third biggest threat, with the Islamic State terrorist group following.

“I don’t view that meaning that we can attack those issues in sequence or that the prioritization of one at expense of the other is necessarily something we have to do at this particular time,” he said. All are creating challenges that need to be addressed by the department.

Dunford said that although he was very confident in the military’s ability to deal with existing threats, he is worried about potential future conflicts stretching the force too thin.

“It’s the readiness to respond to the uncertain, frankly, that keeps me up at night,” he said.

The current joint chiefs chairman, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, retires in September. The Senate will likely vote to confirm Dunford this month before going on recess in August.