The U.S. Army‘s 41 Cyber Mission Force teams have achieved “full operational capability” status from the U.S. Cyber Command.

The Army said Thursday the grant follows the teams’ required completion of multiple training courses on cyberspace operation areas such as planning, network operations and architecture, detailed software analysis and development.

The series of training courses aims to ensure Cyber Mission Force readiness.

U.S. Cyber Command formed the teams to defend Defense Department networks, ensure data security, support military goals and protect U.S. critical infrastructure.

The teams are divided into two classifications: Cyber Protection Teams and offensive mission teams.

Additionally, the Army plans to establish 21 more CPTs from the U.S. Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve.

U.S. Army Cyber Command administers electronic warfare, information and cyberspace operations to protect the country.

The first Cyber Mission Force team became full operational in 2014.

The U.S. Navy and Australian air force have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop a next-generation jamming technology for integration onto the Boeing-built EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft.

The agreement establishes a collaborative framework for the Navy’s Airborne Electronic Attack Systems and EA-6B Program Office and the Australian air force to facilitate engineering and manufacturing development of the ALQ-249 Next Generation Jammer Mid-band platform, the Naval Air Systems Command said Thursday.

Officials from both service branches signed the MoU during an event that took place Oct. 18 at U.S. Pacific Fleet Headquarters in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Australia’s defense ministry announced in early March that it would invest $191.6 million in the development of new airborne radio jammer and radar technology.

Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said defense leaders from the U.S., Japan and South Korea agreed trilateral and multilateral cooperation is needed among the three countries to counter North Korea’s ballistic missile and nuclear threats, DoD News reported Tuesday.

“That includes missile defense and any planning and focus on the nuclear threat posed by North Korea,” Dunford said Sunday during a meeting at U.S. Pacific Command’s headquarters in Hawaii.

Dunford met with Adm. Katsutoshi Kawano, Japan’s self-defense force chief of staff; and Gen. Jeong Kyeong-doo, chairman of South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff; to discuss the threat posed by North Korea.

“Essentially, in the next year the chiefs of defense agreed to improve ballistic missile defenses, all wrapped up with better sharing of data, and to conduct routine exercises to ensure we have a coherent collective response to ballistic missile defense,” Dunford told reporters after the meeting.

He also cited the potential role of multilateralism in anti-submarine warfare, disaster response and maritime interdiction exercises.

The military leaders also agreed to conduct two meetings in the coming year, the report added.

Congress allocated $18.4 billion in total funds to the Defense Department‘s Military Intelligence Program for fiscal year 2017.

DoD said Wednesday the total MIP funding includes the base budget and Overseas Contingency Operations appropriations.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence stated Monday its National Intelligence Program received $54.6 billion for FY 2017.

In May, DoD sought $18.5 billion and ODNI requested $54.9 billion in FY 2017 funds for their respective intelligence programs.

Both agencies did not provide additional program details due to national security reasons.

The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps are considering alternative roles for the USS Lewis B. Puller expeditionary sea base vessel, which has begun operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet as the Navy’s first ESB, USNI News reported Tuesday.

Maj. Gen. David Coffman, Navy director of amphibious warfare, said at the National Defense Industrial Association’s Expeditionary Warfare Conference that the ESB could serve as an alternative to L-class amphibious warships.

The Navy currently operates 31 amphibious ships, but the Marine Corps says it requires at least 38 ships, and up to 50 to fully address the needs of combatant commanders, the report noted.

Coffman added that the Marine Corps remains committed to L-class amphibious warships as the primary vessel for amphibious operations and for the transportation of Marine Air-Ground Task Forces to contested environments.

USS Lewis Puller could help carry the land-based Special Purpose MAGTF- Crisis Response unit in U.S. Central Command, or support the operations of an Amphibious Ready Group in the Persian Gulf, according to Coffman.

He said the Navy and Marine Corps plan to acquire additional ESBs to support mine countermeasures efforts and irregular warfare with special operations forces, Marines, coalition partners and others.

The ESB was built by General Dynamics‘ NASSCO subsidiary and was redesignated from a USNS ship to a USS warship to boost the 5th Fleet’s operational flexibility.