Vice President Mike Pence has said the U.S. intends to remain vigilant and work with its Indo-Pacific allies to heighten pressure on North Korea to abandon the latter country’s nuclear weapon development efforts, DoD News reported Thursday.

He told audience during a speech Wednesday at Yokota Air Base in Japan that North Korean threats have prompted the U.S. to “act with vigilance.”

“Together with our allies and partners, we will continue to strive to peacefully dismantle North Korea’s nuclear program and alleviate the suffering of its people,” Pence added.

He noted that the U.S. will be prepared to defend its homeland and respond to any deployment of conventional or nuclear weapons.

“We will protect our people, we will defend our freedom, and together we will forge a future of security, prosperity and peace for both of our nations for generations to come.”

Christopher Krebs, acting undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security‘s National Protection and Programs Directorate, has been nominated by President Donald Trump to lead NPPD on a full-time basis.

He concurrently serves as assistant secretary in the Office of Infrastructure Protection and leads NPPD’s efforts to prevent complex mass attacks, secure high-risk chemicals and increase resilience of cyber and physical infrastructure across the U.S., the White House said Thursday.

Rep. Jim Langevin (D-Rhode Island) said in a statement published Wednesday that Krebs’ nomination reflects an urgency to reform NPPD.

“I hope the Senate will move quickly to take up the House-passed bill that will allow the organization to continue to evolve,” Langevin added.

Krebs joined the department in March of last year as senior counselor who advised the Homeland Security secretary on matters related to critical infrastructure protection, cybersecurity and national resilience.

Before DHS, he served as director of cybersecurity policy within Microsoft‘s U.S. government affairs team, a principal of Obsidian Analysis and a vice president of Dutko.

The U.S. Navy is scheduled to start installing updates on the USS America amphibious assault ship to support the operations of the F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft aboard the vessel, The National Interest reported Wednesday.

British defense contractor BAE Systems said USS America will undergo a series of hull, mechanical and electrical repairs as well as receive additional modifications for F-35 integration.

The Navy previously upgraded USS America to align its weapons and sensors with F-35s as well as boost the flight deck’s capacity to handle F-35B vertical take-offs and landings.

The U.S. Marine Corps‘ F-35B short take-off and landing variant have gone through flight tests onboard USS America.

USS America is the lead ship of the America-class amphibious assault ships, which currently includes one other vessel named USS Tripoli.

Navy officials said America-class ships are designed to carry up to 31 aircraft in total, including the MV-22 Osprey, CH-53 Super Stallion, AH-1Z Super Cobra, UH-1Y Huey, F-35B and the MH-60 Sea Hawk helicopter.

Rear Adm. Richard Snyder, director of strategy, policy and plans at the U.S. Northern Command, has been nominated as Department of the Navy inspector general and for promotion to the rank of vice admiral.

The more than three-decade Navy veteran currently leads Northrcom’s J5 directorate at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado, the Defense Department said Wednesday.

Snyder joined the service branch in late 1984 as a naval aviator and later served at North Island, California-based Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light 43.

His assignments at sea included time as navigator of the USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) and executive officer of the USS Bataan (LHD 5).

He also worked for the U.S. defense secretary as aviation liaison for public affairs and as a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council of the U.S. and in the Chief of Naval Operations Strategic Studies Group.

Before he took his current assignment, Snyder was director of the Navy’s 21st Century Sailor Office where he led resilience development efforts for U.S. sailors and their families.

The U.S. Navy has assigned Rear Adm. Brian Corey, commander of the Naval Air Warfare Center’s weapons division, to serve as program executive officer for the service branch’s unmanned aviation and strike weapons.

This assignment entails Corey to perform his new duties in Patuxent River, Maryland, the Defense Department said Wednesday.

Corey has served as assistant commander for test and evaluation at the Naval Air Systems Command in addition to his NAWCWD leadership role since Oct. 29, 2015.

Earlier in his military career, he was a naval fighter pilot for various operations including Desert Storm, Provide Hope, Southern Watch and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

He also served as a requirements officer for the F/A-18 aircraft, and as a flight instructor for Training Air Wing 2.

The PEO for unmanned aviation and strike weapons oversees the development and procurement of air-to-ground strike weapons, unmanned aircraft systems and targeting supplements.

The U.S. Navy has asked Defense Secretary James Mattis to delay the shock testing of the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier for at least six years in order to advance the deployment of a fleet of 11 carriers, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.

The Defense Department’s testing office warned that the Ford carrier should first undergo resilience test prior to fielding the ship for initial combat duty, which is expected in 2022.

Robert Behler, DoD’s new testing chief, said in an interview, the aircraft carrier has four new systems designed for aircraft landing and launching, aircraft and missile detection and ordnance movement.

“I think we have to know if those systems continue to work in a combat environment,” he added.

The service wants its second aircraft carrier – USS John F. Kennedy – that is set for delivery by September 2024 to undergo the shock trial instead of the Ford ship, the report added.

Navy Commander Patrick Evans, a spokesman for DoD, said Mattis, a 2018 Wash100 recipient, will directly respond to the military branch once he decides on the matter.