David Berteau, president and CEO of the Professional Services Council, has told lawmakers that there should be increased cooperation between government and contractor oversight approaches to accelerate the U.S. security clearance process.

Berteau testified before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence about the personnel security clearance process, its impact on industry and potential ways to reform the system, PSC said Wednesday.

The PSC chief noted that greater collaboration can help address personnel, privacy, security and contract issues.

He added that government missions and functions face risks due to the security clearance backlog, wait times and the lack of proper personnel executing the process.

PSC is an association of nearly 400 companies that deliver technology and professional services to U.S. government agencies.

Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-Massachusetts) has said the F-35 fighter aircraft modernization program could cost the Defense Department approximately $16 billion through 2024, Reuters reported Thursday.

Tsongas cited DoD’s F-35 program data at a House Armed Services Committee subpanel hearing Wednesday and said the modernization cost estimate for the Lockheed Martin-built F-35 jet includes $10.8 billion for software development and $5.4 billion for upgrade deployment and other procurement efforts.

Navy Vice Adm. Mathias Winter, head of the F-35 joint program office, told reporters that approximately $3.7 billion of the estimated total software development costs will be shouldered by international clients in the next seven years.

Winter said he expects Lockheed to deliver 91 F-35s this year.

The U.S. Marine Corps‘ Fighter Attack Squadron 121 has landed F-35B Lightning II aircraft aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp in support of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit’s 2018 spring patrol.

The recent landing on the East China Sea starts the F-35B’s first deployment for an MEU operation, the Marines said Monday.

The MEU’s annual spring patrol is conducted with Amphibious Squadron 11 to support security across the Indo-Pacific region.

The F-35B variant of the Lightning II employs a short take-off and vertical landing feature that enables the aircraft to land on and launch from amphibious assault ships.

The aircraft was designed to perform multiple types of missions such as those in need of stealth, electronic warfare, heavy payload capacity and surveillance sensors.

The Defense Department looks to establish a combatant command to manage space warfare missions in response to foreign militarization efforts in outer space, Nextgov reported Wednesday.

DoD told Congress in a report last week that department officials are exploring strategies for joint space forces to manage multidomain, trans-regional and space warfighting operations.

Officials work to determine if they should form a central combatant command for space or a subunified space commands within the military branches, the report noted.

The U.S. Space Command was established in 1985 and oversaw U.S. military use of outer space until DoD deactivated the unified combatant command in 2002.

The U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy have since placed space forces in their respective space command equivalents.

The U.S. Army plans to establish the headquarters of its new Futures Command in a major city to foster collaboration between command leaders and civilian technology professionals, Army Times reported Tuesday.

Army Undersecretary Ryan McCarthy told the publication that the service branch will submit a list of 30 candidate cities to the Army secretary and chief of staff.

McCarthy added he will work with Gen. James McConville, Army vice chief of staff, on the down-select of cities, then present the final decision to the secretary and chief of staff in spring.

The Army wants to base the command in an area close to academia and businesses to gain access to industry and academic experts such as systems and software engineers, McCarthy noted.

The new Futures Command is intended to streamline modernization and is scheduled reach initial operating capability in summer.