Michael Griffin, the White House’s nominee for defense undersecretary for research and engineering, has expressed his support to the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental and the Pentagon’s strategic capabilities office during his Senate confirmation hearing, Federal News Radio reported Thursday.

Griffin, former NASA administrator, told Senate Armed Services Committee members Thursday that DIUx and SCO work to facilitate the acquisition process, promote innovation and encourage companies to collaborate with DoD.

He said he intends to reform the Pentagon’s weapons procurement process and address the “valley of death” between technology development and production once confirmed.

“It’s very difficult to set aside and fence money specifically for transition, so one of the things I would like to do if I’m confirmed, is I would like to more formalize the role of transition offices,” he told lawmakers.

“If we think we have a problem with transition… I think the first step to solving it is to put someone in charge of it and give them that task,” he added.

Col. Heath Collins, formerly senior materiel leader and system program manager for the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent Systems Program Office at the U.S. Air Force‘s Nuclear Weapons Center, has been assigned as program executive officer for fighters and bombers at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

Gen. David Goldfein, Air Force chief of staff, announced Collins’ new assignment in a Defense Department press release published Thursday.

Collins, who joined the service branch in 1993, managed the program office responsible for the procurement of GBSD intercontinental ballistic missile technology for nearly two years.

He previously served as deputy director for remote sensing systems at the Los Angeles-based Space and Missile Systems Center and helped procure the Air Force’s space-based missile warning, defense, battlespace, intelligence and weather monitoring systems.

He also led the Defense Department‘s airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, space and special programs during his stint at the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence.

Collins earned master’s degrees from National Defense University, Air University and Florida State University.

Matthew Donovan, U.S. Air Force undersecretary, has said Congress’ failure to pass a full appropriations bill could potentially delay the B-21 Long Range Strike Bomber program, Military.com reported Thursday.

Donavan, who assumed his post in August 2017, said at an Air Force Association event Thursday in Washington that a long-term continuing resolution that funds programs at current spending levels could impact the B-21 program’s engineering, manufacturing and development phase.

“Our FY 2017 budget is $1.3 billion, but our FY18 request is $2 billion, so if we’re not able to ramp up on our schedule for the acquisition program baseline, then of course it’s going to have an impact on it,” he noted.

His statements came a day after House lawmakers proposed another stopgap measure in an effort to avert a government shutdown and fund federal agencies through Feb. 16.

Northrop Grumman was awarded a contract in October 2015 to develop the B-21 plane.

He said the Air Force expects the first bomber to meet initial operating capability by mid-2020s and cited the need for the service to carry out a “zero-based review” of budget lines, programs and manpower authorizations before it drafts the budget request for fiscal 2020.

Will Roper, the Trump administration’s nominee for the U.S. Air Force assistant secretary for acquisition role, has said he plans to find ways on how to reduce the F-35 aircraft’s sustainment costs once confirmed, Defense News reported Thursday.

“If I get confirmed, one of the first things I want to look at is the sustainment plan to make sure that there are not optimistic assumptions for this confluence of events that all happen together to get the price down,” Roper told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing Thursday.

He noted that failure to manage sustainment costs could result in a “bow wave” that could potentially prompt the service branch to block F-35 upgrades, look at force structure or expand inventory through procurement of more fighter jets.

Roper, who currently serves as director of the Defense Department’s strategic capabilities office, said he intends to subject the F-35 program to an in-depth analysis that seeks to identify emerging technology platforms and industry practices that could help reduce the aircraft’s sustainment costs, the report added.

The U.S. Marine Corps‘ F-35B fighter aircraft will deploy onboard the U.S. Navy‘s USS Wasp amphibious assault ship to support slated regional patrol missions.

The Wasp vessel, which will replace USS Bonhomme Richard as the 7th fleet’s forward-deployed amphibious assault ship, has been equipped with capacities required to land and launch the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter, the Navy said Saturday.

Capt. Colby Howard, commanding officer of USS Wasp, said the ship is ready to perform various military missions that range from crisis response to disaster relief alongside its F-35B companion.

Expeditionary Strike Group 7, which consists of USS Wasp and other amphibious vessels, will team up with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit to serve as an on-call crisis response force in the Pacific region.

Wasp departed from Norfolk, Virginia in August then headed to the Caribbean to aid areas in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Dominica that were struck by Hurrican Irma.

The crew also assisted Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria which was dubbed as the worst natural disaster recorded in the American commonwealth island’s history.