The U.S. Army plans to increase its focus on building and acquiring new weapons systems that would give the military enhanced capability to fight China and Russia in a “high-intensity conflict,” Defense One reported Tuesday.

Senior officials are talking with commanders about new weapons and technologies, which include long-range artillery, attack and reconnaissance aircraft, air and missile defenses and command-and-control networks.

Mark Esper, secretary of the Army, said he wants to reduce funding for vehicles and aircraft to support the development of new systems that would be used in Afghanistan and Iraq and could deter Russian or Chinese air forces.

A series of Army reviews in 2018 suggested cutting nearly 200 weapons projects could save an additional $25 billion. Among the programs that might be cut include upgrades to Boeing-made CH-47 Chinook helicopters and procurement of Oshkosh-made joint light tactical vehicles. Esper noted the Army has not finalized the proposed cuts.

Some Air Force officials said that establishing a new information warfare organization looks to demonstrate the significance of electronic warfare and cyber capabilities, C4ISRNET reported Monday.

“We’ve come to discover cyber is an element of the larger information warfare and [electromagnetic spectrum] fight that we’re in,” Ted Uchida, deputy director of operations at Air Combat Command, said Thursday at an Air Force Association event.

Air Combat Command announced that it will combine its 24th and 25th air forces this summer, forming the new information warfare organization. Uchida said the new group will focus on electronic warfare, influence operations, military deception, cyber information missions, psychological operations and military information support operations aimed at “influencing an adversary’s thought process.”

The U.S. Navy issued a written testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee stating plans to integrate multi-domain capabilities into its next-generation offensive missiles, USNI News reported Monday.

The Navy’s Offensive Missile Strategy succeeds the Cruise Missile Strategy and includes non-nuclear offensive strike missiles with a capacity of over 50 nautical miles. The service plans to implement a three-pronged approach to the program which involves the sustainment of weapon systems, procurement of updated capabilities and development of modernized strike missile technologies.

“The OMS construct supports a wider, more systematic approach towards delivering a capabilities balance to increase overall force effectiveness to address emerging threats,” according to the testimony.

Technologies covered by the OMS framework will include Offensive Anti-Surface Warfare and Next Generation Land Attack Weapon capabilities. The fiscal 2020 budget proposal requests $143.2 million for the Navy’s weapons procurement efforts and $386.7 million for the purchase of missiles and related systems.

Matthew Cornelius, senior technology and cybersecurity adviser at the Office of Management and Budget, said the office of the federal chief information officer within OMB continues to promote transparency, Nextgov reported Monday.

“This OMB—and Suzette Kent, my boss—have been very adamant about us being transparent and open in the policymaking process,” Cornelius said at an Association for Federal Information Resources Management-hosted event in response to reports that OFCIO was in turmoil. “Now, [we are] much more comfortable letting agencies do what they need to do.”

Jacob Wood, deputy director of communications at OMB, told the publication that Kent and her team are working to improve morale and operations. Wood added that Kent’s team at OFCIO “has been purposeful in seeking input from agencies, industry and academia for IT modernization, data accountability and transparency goals and multiple new policies under development.”

John Sanders, a more than 30-year national security veteran and chief operating officer of Customs and Border Protection, has been named acting commissioner of the CBP. “Sanders has proven instrumental to advancing CBP’s mission and organizational priorities across the agency,” Kevin McAleenan, acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and 2019 Wash100 Award winner, said in a statement released Monday. 

“In addition to bringing greater focus on the agency’s operational requirements, he has provided strategic direction and oversight to critical enterprise services and operations support functions across the agency,” added McAleenan. 

As the CBP COO, Sanders develops the agency’s strategic direction, oversees enterprise services and support units, identifies operational requirements and drives collaborative efforts with industry and other stakeholders.

He previously served as chief technology officer with the Transportation Security Administration and co-founded Reveal Imaging Technologies, a provider of threat detection and screening platforms. Sanders also held positions at M33 Growth, Evolv Technology, Pramatha Solutions, OGSystems and American Science and Engineering.