The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency‘s fiscal year 2019 budget request includes $254.7 million to fund various space programs such as an experimental space plane, a launch competition and an on-orbit satellite servicing platform, Parabolic Arc reported Friday.

DARPA seeks $62 million for the Experimental Spaceplane One program to fund Boeing‘s ongoing efforts to build a launch vehicle that can be flown 10 times in 10 days.

The agency also requested $5 million for the DARPA Launch Challenge, which aims to test the capacity to launch satellites quickly, switch sites and then lift off again.

Under the budget request, the Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites program will receive $109 million to support the development, test and integration of a robotic system that will work to sustain spacecraft in the geosynchronous orbit.

DARPA also wants $42 million for the Radar Net project that will work to develop lightweight, low-power, wideband capability for radio frequency communications and remote sensing for a space-based platform.

The request allocates a total of $37 million to four space technology programs including Blackjack, Planar Imager, Hallmark and Advanced Space Technology Concepts.

John Rood, defense undersecretary for policy, has said the Trump administration’s proposed fiscal 2019 budget provides funds for all Pentagon’s modernization efforts that includes $11 billion for nuclear force operations and sustainment and $7 billion for recapitalization programs, DoD News reported Thursday.

Rood said before the House Armed Services Committee Wednesday he believes U.S. nuclear weapon capabilities will continue to help deter nuclear attacks amid strategic competition and threats posed by Russia, China, Iran and North Korea.

Air Force Gen. John Hyten, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, also testified and told lawmakers about the capability of U.S. warfighters against hostile threats.

“The forces under my command are fully ready to deter our adversaries and respond decisively should that deterrence fail,” added Hyten, a 2018 Wash100 recipient.

The U.S. Navy has assigned Rear Adm. Patrick Piercey, currently director of operations with the U.S. Pacific Command, to serve with the U.S. European Command as chief of staff.

With this assignment, Piercey will be transferred from Camp H. M. Smith, Hawaii, to Stuttgart, Germany, the Defense Department said Friday.

He began his military service in 1985 upon graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy. Throughout is Navy career, Piercey held commanding duties aboard naval ships USS Ronald Reagan, USS Bunker Hill and USS Howard.

On USS John C. Stennis and USS Mississippi, he served as reactor officer and engineer officer, respectively.

Piercey holds a bachelor’s degree in systems engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy, and a master’s degree in military arts and science from the Army Command and General Staff College.

He is also a recipient of multiple military awards and merits such as the Defense Superior Service Medal and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal.

President Donald Trump on Thursday imposed a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tax on imported aluminum in a push to build up national security and put an end to “aggressive foreign trade practices,” The Hill reported Sunday.

Mexico and Canada would be exempted from the tariffs under Trump’s order.

A group of senators led by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) told Trump in a Thursday letter the tariffs would harm the country’s relationship with international partners that work to help the U.S. in its defense efforts and keep international stability.

Eric Fanning, president of the Aerospace Industries Association, said in a statement the 10 percent tax on aluminum “would create almost $2 billion in unnecessary costs to U.S. manufacturing.”

Fanning, a 2018 Wash100 recipient, warned of trade retaliation risk on defense and aerospace products if the administration pushes with the tariffs and asked the president to reconsider the proposed policies, according to a report by SpaceNews.

Dean Hirasawa, a spokesman for the Satellite Industry Association, told the publication SIA will hold a meeting late Monday to discuss issues associated with the tariffs.

David Norquist, Defense Department comptroller, has urged lawmakers to give DoD more spending flexibility in fiscal year 2018 across three areas, Breaking Defense reported Wednesday.

U.S. Navy Secretary Richard Spencer, an inductee into the 2018 Wash100, told reporters that Norquist asked lawmakers to loosen the 80:20 rule, which prohibits federal agencies from spending more than 20 percent of their budget in the last two months of the fiscal year.

The DoD comptroller also seeks an increase in the maximum amount allowed for a Below Threshold Reprogramming, a mechanism that permits DoD to reallocate funds without congressional approval.

Norquist’s third request is to allow certain funds that would expire at the end of the fiscal year to carry over into FY 2019.

Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-New Jersey), chairman of the House appropriations committee, told Navy leaders during a hearing that lawmakers have “worked out a path forward to provide that degree of flexibility you and the other services are looking for.”

Frelinghuysen could be referring to use of operations and maintenance funds, which can only be obligated throughout one fiscal year, the report noted.

The U.S. Army aims to reach full readiness recovery by 2022 through equipment upgrades, investments in preferred munitions and force expansion, Military.com reported Wednesday.

Lt. Gen. John Murray, deputy chief of staff for Army G-8, said at the 9th Annual Defense Programs Conference hosted by McAleese and Associates, that the Army has made “significant investments” in key munitions to compensate for under-investing in preferred munitions that were used up in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Army’s fiscal year 2019 budget request includes funds for 148,287 155mm artillery projectiles and 9,450 Guided Multi-Launch Rocket Systems – an increase from 16,573 projectiles and 6,084 GMLRS purchased last year.

Murray added that the FY 2019 budget proposal would add 4,000 soldiers to the active force to set a “modest-growth” trend that the Army plans to follow in the next years.

The active force expansion is intended to boost capacity in the areas of fires, air defense, cyber, electronic warfare and the new Security Force Assistance Brigades, Murray noted.

He said the Army aims to shift investment from readiness to modernization once the military branch reaches its readiness goals.

President Donald Trump has nominated Vice Adm. Karl Schultz, commander of U.S. Coast Guard‘s Atlantic area, to serve as the next leader of USCG.

Schultz holds more than 35 years of USCG leadership experience that includes various collaborations with other Department of Homeland Security components and the Defense Department, DHS said Thursday.

In his current capacity, he leads operations across five Coast Guard districts and 40 states. He also serves as the commander of Defense Force East and director of DHS Joint Task Force East.

Previously, he served at the Miami Sector Command and led tours aboard Cutters Venturous, Acacia and Farallon cutters.

Schultz also performed staff and liaison duties within the House of Representatives, State Department and Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.

President Trump has also nominated Vice Ad. Charles Ray as vice commandant of USCG.