Lloyd Austin, a retired U.S. Army general and President Biden’s nominee for the defense secretary post, said his top priorities once confirmed would be to address the COVID-19 pandemic, counter extremism within the U.S. and reaffirm military alliances with countries in the Indo-Pacific amid China’s aggression, Voice of America reported Tuesday.

He told Senate Armed Services Committee members Tuesday during his confirmation hearing that he will have a “laser-like focus” on ensuring that the U.S. maintains its competitive advantage over the Chinese military and noted that doing so will require U.S. investments in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and other emerging technologies. Gen. Austin also shared his thoughts on the nuclear deal with Iran during the hearing.

“The preconditions for us considering to reenter into that agreement would be that Iran meet the conditions outlined in the agreement … back to where they should have been," he said.

C4ISRNET reported that Gen. Austin expressed support to the Department of Defense’s proactive cybersecurity approach called “defend forward.”

In a written response to lawmakers’ policy questions, Gen. Austin said DOD can advance the defend forward approach by enabling industry, interagency and international partners to come up with better defenses; gathering insights about the cyber capabilities and operations of adversaries; and initiating actions to stop or disrupt threat actors’ malicious cyber activities.

Gen. Austin also responded to a question about the dual-hat leadership arrangement for U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency.

A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report has found that the Department of Defense (DOD) is yet to achieve widespread use of the “M-code” GPS technology due to limitations in satellite equipment to accommodate the jam-resistant capability.

GAO said Tuesday the DOD has seen delays in developing and deploying receiver equipment that will enable military GPS users to fully utilize the more secure, harder-to-jam M-code signals being broadcast on modern GPS satellites.

M-code’s complexity could pose challenges in integrating related technologies with various weapons systems. A GPS system must consist of receivers, satellites and ground control infrastructure to operate efficiently, according to the report.

GAO added that the DOD initially intended to incorporate the M-code receiver into F/A-18 fighter aircraft, MH-53E helicopter and  AV-8B strike aircraft but terminated plans due to delays.

The U.S. Air Force also experienced a one-year delay in its effort to develop M-code technology for testing on the U.S. Army’s Stryker platform and the U.S. Marine Corps’ Joint Light Tactical Vehicle.

A new schedule for testing is yet to be announced. Assessments are in place to identify causes for production and integration obstacles in DOD programs, GAO noted.

The Department of Commerce’s (DOC) bureau of industry and security has announced new controls to prevent U.S. individuals from supporting weapons of mass destruction programs and foreign military intelligence activities in Russia, China, Cuba, Venezuela and other terrorist-backing countries.

The new controls preclude U.S. citizens from backing foreign military intelligence actions such as offering maintenance, repair and overhaul services and negotiating the sale of products that originated from foreign entities, the department said Thursday.

The bureau is broadening the license requirements for exports to military intelligence end users in those countries and amending end-use controls to ensure that U.S. activities related to the operation, installation and maintenance of unmanned aerial vehicles, chemical and biological weapons and rocket systems set off a “catch-all license requirement” as cited in the Export Administration Regulations.

“These new strict controls will inhibit China’s Intelligence Bureau and Russia’s GRU from leveraging U.S. technology and services to support espionage, intelligence collection and operations, and other activities contrary to U.S. national security interests,” said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.

The new controls will impact foreign military intelligence organizations of Cuba, China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria and Venezuela and are set to take effect on March 16.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is seeking inputs for an updated draft of a guidance document that aims to help the vehicle industry enhance its cybersecurity.

Entitled Cybersecurity Best Practices for the Safety of Modern Vehicles, the document contains recommendations on practices that may have safety implications for motor vehicles and associated equipment, the Office of the Federal Register said Tuesday.

NHTSA aims to provide organizations with methods in gauging and responding to residual risks linked with cybersecurity concerns in motor vehicles.

The revised draft builds upon comments submitted by regulated entities, government agencies, trade associations, advocacy groups and various organizations for the document's initial version in 2016.

Some of the feedback cited the need for additional terminologies as well as consideration of cybersecurity as a software development process. Responses to the notice are due March 15.

President Trump has issued a directive mandating NASA, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and the departments of Defense (DoD), State and Commerce (DOC) to coordinate and drive U.S. positioning, navigation and timing programs.

Space Policy Directive 7 seeks to sustain and modernize global position system infrastructure for U.S. and allied operations focused on economic, homeland and national security, according to the memo released Friday.

Under the directive, the secretary of state must work with counterparts in defense and transportation to promote agency programs on GPS and foreign civil PNT. The state secretary must also lead efforts to negotiate with foreign nations on military PNT issues, the notice states.

In addition, the secretary of commerce must promote U.S. industry access to foreign space-based PNT markets and invest in research and development efforts on GPS-driven commercial technologies.

The transportation secretary is also mandated to promote civil space-based PNT services while NASA must work to establish GPS requirements for civil and commercial space systems.

Other joint efforts outlined in the directive include protection of the radio-frequency spectrum through “appropriate domestic and international spectrum management and regulatory practices.”