The U.S. Army is developing a framework that will support the installation of active protection systems on ground combat vehicles.

The open architecture system called Modular Active Protection System will come in three variants, including the Trophy APS for the Abrams tank; the Iron Curtain APS for the Stryker vehicle; and the Iron Fist APS for the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, the Army said Tuesday.

Col. Kevin Vanyo, program manager for emerging capabilities at the Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center, said MAPS will include controller software and hardware that will work to activate APS once it is deployed.

MAPS is the Army’s near-term effort to develop active protection measures that will boost protection for combat vehicles without increasing the tanks’ weight.

Vanyo added that putting more armor on tanks is not feasible because of weight limits, noting that the Abrams tank is currently too heavy to pass through some bridges.

The Army aims to field Trophy APS by 2020 and make decisions on the other two variants during the second quarter of fiscal year 2018.

Army personnel at Redstone Arsenal are testing various APS platforms that can be deployed once MAPS has matured.

The Government Accountability Office has called on the Defense Department to designate an organization that will oversee the collection of test data, design platforms and lessons learned to facilitate coordination as DoD works to deploy new GPS receiver cards.

GAO said in a report published Tuesday such an organization could help prevent duplication and advance the adoption of common design tools as program offices independently develop, test and install Military-code receiver cards into several weapon systems.

The new M-code receiver is part of the second program initiated by the U.S. Air Force to address delays in the development of a new ground control system, OCX, for the GPS III satellite constellation.

The M-code Early Use program seeks to modify the current ground control platform in order to deliver an encrypted temporary GPS signal to warfighters.

GAO said the preliminary cost estimate to test a small number of weapon systems that require the M-code receiver cards is worth approximately $2.5 billion through fiscal 2021.

Those include 72 partially funded and 28 fully funded weapons systems.

Some of the weapons systems that need GPS receiver cards include aircraft carriers, submarines, fighter jets, bombers, battle tanks, personnel carriers, missiles, rockets and other munitions.

The Department of Homeland Security has created an office that will work to streamline its efforts to prevent terrorists from using weapons of mass destruction against U.S citizens and interests.

The Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office will consolidate key functions and steer DHS’ strategy against WMD threats under the leadership of James McDonnell, director of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, the department said Thursday.

DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said the creation of an office to unify intelligence, operations, interagency collaboration and international action is essential to address evolving terrorism.

CWMD aims to facilitate increased policy coordination, strategic planning and visibility into missions to stop national security threat actors that use chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear agents and devices.

DHS noted intelligence analysis reports that indicate terrorists and non-state entities are utilizing battlefield environments to tests WMD capabilities previously accessible only to nation states.

Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke is scheduled to provide additional details on the CWMD Office at the Hudson Institute on Dec. 13.

The U.S. Air Force has received its newest Lockheed Martin-built C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, which will support the military branch’s aircraft upgrade efforts.

The Air Force said Tuesday a team from the 37th Airlift Squadron brought the C-130J aircraft to Ramstein Air Base in Germany from Lockheed’s production facility in Marietta, Georgia.

The new plane will replace one of 14 C-130Js at Ramstein AB to mitigate potential issues with the aging fleet.

The Air Force regularly rotates aircraft among its units to extend service life as part of the Enterprise Fleet Management strategy.

C-130J is an updated version of the C-130 Hercules model and is designed to expand fuselage by 15 feet as well as extend usable space in the cargo compartment.

The upgraded aircraft also features a fully-pressurized cargo hold that supports rapid configuration for transporting troops, stretchers and passengers or airdropping forces and equipment into battle zones.

C-130J works to support medical evacuation, humanitarian, airdrop, cargo delivery, firefighting, aerial refueling, aerial spray and arctic operations.