A markup of the proposed fiscal 2019 defense policy bill released by the office of House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) does not include a plan to shut down the Defense Information Systems Agency, Nextgov reported Monday.

The chairman’s markup of the fiscal 2019 National Defense Authorization Act released Monday calls for the Defense Department to have a plan in place by March 1, 2020 to transfer all of DISA’s communications and IT contracting functions to other Pentagon components and eliminate the Washington Headquarters Service.

DISA and the Washington Headquarters Service were among the seven DoD agencies that Thornberry proposed to eliminate in April through a bill in an effort to generate more than $25 billion in savings.

The proposed bill would direct the Pentagon’s chief management officer to implement a 25 percent reduction in DoD’s contracting, logistics, property management and human resources spending by Jan. 1, 2021.

FCW reported that the draft NDAA would provide more funds for artificial intelligence, machine learning, direct energy and hypersonic technology programs and would require DoD to establish a “separate alternative acquisition process” for space initiatives.

The measure would impose a ban on technology products from Chinese firms such as ZTE and Huawei and is scheduled for a full committee markup on Wednesday, May 9.

The U.S. Air Force has initiated the second phase of its light-attack experiment at Holloman AF Base in New Mexico to further examine aircraft capacities and potential interoperability with allies.

USAF said Monday pilots participating in the three-month experiment have started flying the A-29 Super Tucano aircraft from a Sierra Nevada–Embraer team and the AT-6B Wolverine plane from Textron‘s aviation business.

“This second phase of experimentation is about informing the rapid procurement process as we move closer to investing in light attack,” said Lt. Gen. Arnold Bunch, military deputy at USAF’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Acquisition.

Bunch added he believes adopting such aircraft to support “permissive” combat missions will help the service branch to increase the availability of fourth- and fifth-generation platforms for real combat training and operations.

The service also seeks to determine how it can conduct light attack operations alongside coalition partners in the future as part of the National Defense Strategy.

USAF used four aircraft models during the first phase of the experiment that occurred in August 2017.

The Defense Department has proposed to accommodate in Norfolk, Va., a future command that would support NATO operations across the trans-Atlantic region.

DoD said Friday it seeks to host the NATO Joint Force Command for the Atlantic, which the international alliance will establish to help address global security challenges.

NATO intends for the new command to support deterrence, stabilization and defense operations.

The North Atlantic Council is scheduled to hand down a decision on JFC’s location in the summer.

U.S. Army Gen. Paul Nakasone has succeeded U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Rogers as commander of the U.S. Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency.

Nakasone, a 2018 Wash100 recipient, previously commanded the Army Cyber Command and led Cybercom’s Joint Task Force-ARES in efforts to counter cyber activities of the Islamic State militant group, NSA said Friday.

The change in leadership ceremony took place Friday at Fort Meade in Maryland and also marked the transition of Cybercom into the country’s 10th combatant command.

NSA added the event also coincided with the opening of the Integrated Cyber Center designed to support threat response planning and coordination efforts.

The center is located within NSA and Cybercom’s Fort Meade-based East Campus, which is scheduled to be completed in 2028 and will house more than 20,000 personnel.

The Defense Department has proposed a new measure that aims to address delays in government procurements by limiting the ability of government contractors to challenge contract award decisions by agencies in federal courts, Federal News Radio reported Friday.

The proposed legislation would direct contractors to file bid protests with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims within 10 days of the award decision and prohibit them from using COFC as a backup if they fail to win their cases at the Government Accountability Office.

“The amount of time that could be consumed by protests would be reduced, scarce agency procurement resources would be conserved by ensuring that two separate trial-level forums do not adjudicate the same bid protest, and protesters would be assured of accountability and transparency no matter which forum they elected,” DoD officials wrote in their official proposal to Congress.

“This reform would largely eliminate an unintended ‘forum shopping’ practice that has arisen under the existing bid protest system, and would materially contribute to the expeditious yet fair resolution of bid protests,” they added.