The North Carolina National Guard has conducted new equipment training activities near Fort Bragg for six weeks to evaluate the latest model of the Textron-built RQ-7BV2 Shadow tactical unmanned aerial system.

The U.S. Army said Friday that the latest model features several upgrades which help meet NATO regulations on interoperability and communications security as well as allow for increased range and longer flight duration.

AAI Corp, a Textron subsidiary, develops the Shadow TUAS platform which offers force protection, reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition capacity for Brigade Combat Teams.

“The Shadow as a platform… gives us capabilities for our military intelligence company in support of the 30th Brigade,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Stephen Isaacs, commander of the North Carolina National Guard’s Detachment 1.

The Army noted that NET works to help soldiers to familiarize themselves with the new aircraft without time constrictions and limitations usually faced during drill weekends.

Senior U.S. government officials have urged members of the United Nations Security Council to ban the sales of oil and other fuel products to North Korea as part of efforts to help deter the country’s nuclear weapons development and test efforts, The New York Times reported Monday.

The U.S. is in private talks with the council to include fuel-related sanctions in a draft resolution and called for the implementation of such policy after North Korea tested a hydrogen bomb under the ground.

“Despite our efforts over the past 24 years, the North Korean nuclear program is more advanced and more dangerous than ever,” said Nikki Haley, U.S. ambassador to the UN.

“We have taken an incremental approach… and despite the best of intentions, it has not worked,” Haley added.

Defense Secretary James Mattis said in a statement published Sunday that he and other Defense Department officials held a small group national security meeting with President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence to address provocations on the Korean peninsula.

Mattis noted that all United Nations Security Council members unanimously committed to support international denuclearization efforts in the region.

“Any threat to the United States, or its territories – including Guam – or our allies will be met with a massive military response,” he added.

President Donald Trump has decided to eliminate a weight limit on warheads added to South Korea’s missile systems in response to a nuclear missile test launch from North Korea, Reuters reported Monday.

The current missile pact between U.S. and South Korea limits the weight of the latter country’s warheads to 1,100 pounds per unit at a flight range of up to 497 miles.

Trump also issued a conceptual approval that provides an option for South Korea to purchase billions of dollars worth of weapons from the U.S. during his meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, the report noted.

Stars and Stripes reported Monday that South Korea also wants to install four more launchers for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile defense system.

South Korea’s ministry of national defense said the additional deployment will help the country counter potential nuclear threats from North Korea.

The U.S. Air Force has decided to remove the flight restriction on Lockheed Martin-built F-35A fighter aircraft at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, Breaking Defense reported Wednesday.

The service branch imposed a flight ceiling of 25,000 feet in June in response to five incidents of hypoxia-like symptoms or oxygen deprivation experienced by F-35A pilots at Luke AFB.

“We have learned a lot over the past two months and while we have yet to identify a singular cause we have reduced potential causes for labored breathing, carbon monoxide ingestion, and refined our procedures and training,” Brig. Gen. Brook Leonard, 56th fighter wing commander at Luke, said in a statement.

“We will continue to closely monitor operations and work with the joint program office and the human performance wing on future improvements as we move forward building the future of airpower,” he added.

Military.com also reported the service branch has not yet identified the root cause of physiological incidents that occurred from May 2 through June 8.

Officials said the Air Force will begin the testing phase on the On-Board Oxygen Generating System aboard the affected aircraft to facilitate data analysis, the report added.

The U.S. Army has collaborated with industry to accelerate the production of the Lockheed Martin-built High Mobility Artillery Rocket System that works to home in on enemy targets at a range of up to 300 miles, Scout Warrior reported Monday.

“HIMARS production has resumed in the U.S. for the first time since mid-2013, creating a production capability critical for both U.S. and partner nations’ field artillery defense,” said Daniel O’Boyle, spokesman for program executive officer for missiles and space.

Boyle noted the re-establishment of a production line in the U.S. for HIMARS seeks to facilitate response to evolving conditions and requirements.

HIMARS is a long-range mobile rocket launcher mounted on an Army medium tactical vehicle designed to fire six guided multiple launch rockets and one MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System.

The U.S. military has provided HIMARS to Iraq’s security forces to help counter the Islamic State militant organization.