The Nuclear Command, Control and Communications Enterprise Center received initial operability status from the U.S. Strategic Command on April 3. The facility serves to restructure decision making, situation oversight, planning, force direction and management for nuclear command functions, STRATCOM said Wednesday.

Elizabeth Durham-Ruiz, NC3 Enterprise Center director for STRATCOM, said the designation is part of the command’s plans to provide reinforced NC3 capacities within the 21st century.

“The center was created to help break down stovepipes in NC3 operations across the Defense Department,” she said. “We want to bring a whole-of-government approach to NC3 as we focus on operations, requirements, systems engineering and integration and analytics for the entire enterprise.”

The Department of Defense instructed the command to enact the NC3 Governance Improvement Implementation Plan, an initiative that creates program roles, provides direction to government partners and establishes the foundation for the center.

The Department of Energy is investing a maximum of $59M to support research and development efforts on mobile energy technologies for use in vehicles. The projects encompass multiple types of energy applications including electric drive systems, batteries, mobility systems, power trains, engines and fuels, the department said Wednesday.

Studies will revolve around six research topics including solid state batteries, electric motor research, energy-efficient mobility systems and alternative fuel technology integration. Researchers will also develop predictive modeling capabilities to co-optimize fuels and multi-mode engines and build high-efficiency power trains made of lightweight and high temperature-resistant materials.

“Through this funding opportunity we are looking to partner with the best and brightest minds across the country to drive early-stage R and D for vehicle technologies forward,” said Mark Menezes, the undersecretary of energy.

Admiral Bill Moran, the U.S. Navy vice chief of naval operations, called on the service “to harness the power of data” for the military to keep up with adversaries who are seeking digital advantages. 

“Gaining a digital edge will transform the way we fight in the future,” he said in a statement Tuesday on DefenseOne. “Imagine if we could eliminate the need for calendar-driven inspection cycles because we’ve adopted real-time digital feedback in our platforms and systems.” 

Current systems used by the Navy prevent information sharing and cross-talk, which leads to digital hoarding, a problem that puts the service behind adversaries in seeking digital advantage, according to Moran.

Moran called on Navy officials to demand sharing and use of information they collect and create daily. The Navy should also update databases and outdated technology to support naval missions. 

“We all want to move faster and embed technologies like artificial intelligence or machine learning into our weapons and platforms, from the keel up,” he said. “We must first commit, as a service, to move out with one data culture, inculcating trust and scaling learning across our institution, together.”

Glenn Gerstell, general counsel of the National Security Agency, said the adoption of 5G network and other tools like artificial intelligence could pose challenges for the federal government to promote citizen privacy, CBS News reported Wednesday. 

“There’s lots and lots of potential for mischief. There’s lots of potential for real benefit. But I think our society hasn’t even now, let alone in the future, figured out what privacy really means,” he told the publication. “We haven’t been faced with a technology like this, that has become this ubiquitous, this impactful, ever in the history of the world.” 

The rapid adoption, spread of faster, more stable mobile and web networks as well as AI, geolocation and facial recognition tools require “significant legislative action,” Gerstell said. However, the NSA official noted Americans are still protected by the Fourth Amendment during surveillance operations of the agency. 

Gerstell said there are multiple layers of oversight to secure privacy of citizens. The process involves the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the president’s intelligence advisory board and two congressional committees.