President Donald Trump has unveiled a new strategy that aims to advance industry partnerships and regulatory reforms in a push to help the U.S. maintain its competitive edge in space technology and services.

A White House fact sheet published Friday the National Space Strategy seeks to continue the U.S. space exploration tradition, deter and defeat space domain threats and promote the development of new space systems to ensure national security, scientific knowledge and economic prosperity.

The new initiative builds on the National Security Strategy that Trump unveiled in December 2017 and has four pillars that seek to advance U.S. leadership in space.

Those pillars include the need to transform space architectures to build up resiliency; strengthen warfighting and deterrence options; enhance foundational processes and capabilities through improved procurement methods and situational awareness; and support local and international environments through streamlined regulatory policies and frameworks.

The U.S. Navy‘s USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier has served as grounds for the F-35C Lightning II’s carrier qualification testing and completion.

Pilots within strike fighter squadrons 125 and 101 flew the F-35C through 140 obstacles to qualify the aircraft for day and night use, in preparation for operational testing anticipated later in 2018, the U.S. Navy said Friday.

The aircraft also exhibited its foldable-wing feature, a component needed for operating alongside other platforms such as F/A-18C Hornets, F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers as part of a carrier-based full air wing.

As part of the aircraft’s underway period, the USS Abraham Lincoln was equipped with the F-35’s Autonomic Logistic Information System, a platform that integrates and manages mission planning, maintenance, supply chain and sustainment data associated with the aircraft.

Previously, the carrier’s pilots pioneered the operational use of the Joint Precision Approach and Landing System through a carrier qualification effort that was held in late 2017.

The JPALS makes use of global positioning system technology to guide F-35Cs in landing through all types of weather.

The $1.3 trillion omnibus budget bill for fiscal year 2018 will fund the production of new wings for the U.S. Air Force‘s A-10 Warthog aircraft, Defense News reported Friday.

The spending measure includes $103 million for the A-10 wing replacement program and will cover funds needed to restart the A-10 wing production line and procure the first four wing sets.

President Donald Trump signed the omnibus spending bill on Friday after Congress passed the legislation on Thursday.

The Air Force said in a draft request for proposals posted in February that it could purchase up to 112 wing sets.

A draft schedule noted that the service branch plans to release a final RFP in April and award a contract as early as March 2019.

The Air Force has rewinged 173 A-10s and currently operates 109 Warthogs with their original wings.

The U.S. Air Force‘s Installation and Contracting Agency has achieved approximately $1 billion in cost savings using alternative ways to procure goods and services.

AFICA employed a cost savings tracker, strategic partnerships and acquisition strategies to meet goals under the Air Force Materiel Command’s strategic plan, the Air Force said Thursday.

Renee Richardson, AFICA executive director, said the agency encouraged contracting personnel to apply good business practices, including the use of business intelligence to support their decision making.

Richardson added that AFICA promotes alternative measures that can help optimize the acquisition of goods and services for warfighters.

Examples of these processes include an effort of the 366th Contracting Squadron to pursue $155,000 in energy-efficient contracts that include LED street lights and window tinting for the 366th Fighter Wing in Mountain Home Air Force Base.

The 366th Contracting Squadron also replaced dining facility to-go containers with a reusable product designed to last for five years and save the wing $14,000 annually.

The 354th Civil Engineer and 354th Contracting Squadrons at Eielson AFB entered an intergovernmental support agreement with Alaska’s Transportation Department to stripe 46 miles of highway at three military installations in the state.

Richardson said the agreement will help cut annual costs by about 46 percent and boost safety on the covered roadway.

The U.S. Navy has completed tests for a drone-based mine detection system made to deploy from littoral combat ships, Military.com reported Thursday.

The Coastal Mine Reconnaissance system makes use of an MQ-8B Fire Scout drone and an AN/DVS-1 Coastal Battlespace Reconnaissance and Analysis or COBRA sensor to detect mines and obstacles on surfaces and coastal areas.

The MINEnet Tactical web system is also employed to facilitate the CMR’s command and control functions for mine warfare.

The Navy commenced the tests from the USS Coronado, having conducted nine exercises that were evaluated based on shore-based mission-tasking, planned mission flying and data analysis performance.

The service branch also seeks to employ drones built to identify and destroy enemy mines after detection, the report noted.