The U.S. Army‘s new Futures Command will take over some organizations of existing Army commands as part of its mission to unify the military branch’s modernization programs, Breaking Defense reported Monday.

The Futures Command will assume leadership of the Army Materiel Command’s Research and Development Command; unspecified components of the Army Test and Evaluation Command; and parts of the Training and Doctrine Command’s Army Capability Integration Center.

Army program managers and program executive officers will have a reporting relationship with the Futures Command and will continue to report to the Army assistant secretary for acquisition, logistics and technology.

The new command will take responsibility for all technologies and projects beyond the current Five-Year Defense Plan, but AMC will continue to develop and maintain Army equipment and TRADOC will continue to oversee personnel training and education.

Army Undersecretary Ryan McCarthy announced earlier this month that the service branch plans to establish the Futures Command’s headquarters in a major city to support collaboration with civilian technology professionals.

Gen. James McConville said at a conference hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army that the Futures Command is needed to lead modernization initiatives and allow the Forces Command, AMC and TRADOC to focus on their respective missions to deploy, sustain and train the existing force.

Ajit Pai, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has released a proposal to prohibit the use of the $8.5 billion Universal Service Fund in procuring services from firms that pose national security vulnerabilities.

FCC said Monday the proposed rule aims to protect U.S. communications networks and corresponding supply chains from national security threats.

“The money in the Universal Service Fund comes from fees paid by the American people, and I believe that the FCC has the responsibility to ensure that this money is not spent on equipment or services that pose a threat to national security,” Pai said.

FCC will hold a meeting on April 17 wherein a vote regarding the proposal is scheduled to take place.

The U.S. Air Force expects its F-35, F-22 and other fighter jets to potentially home in on hostile air and ground targets without the need to rely on land-based command-and-control platforms as adversaries develop new technologies designed to attack C2 systems, Warrior Maven reported Monday.

“Airmen of the future will need to get after the mission orders, take their skills and abilities and operate without a lot communication back to central command and control,” Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said at the Air Force Association’s Air War Symposium.

“It is about the Air Force being prepared to fight in the future of warfare,” added Wilson, a 2018 Wash100 recipient.

The service has begun to accelerate work on the Link 16 platform to speed up sharing of threat intelligence, navigational and target data between air-attack systems and reduce dependence on radio communications tools that are vulnerable to jamming.

The Air Force Research Laboratory has collaborated with industry to further develop and test a force-tracking radio frequency technology that works to identify the location of warfighters on the ground without using GPS signals, the report noted.

President Donald Trump has unveiled a new strategy that aims to advance industry partnerships and regulatory reforms in a push to help the U.S. maintain its competitive edge in space technology and services.

A White House fact sheet published Friday the National Space Strategy seeks to continue the U.S. space exploration tradition, deter and defeat space domain threats and promote the development of new space systems to ensure national security, scientific knowledge and economic prosperity.

The new initiative builds on the National Security Strategy that Trump unveiled in December 2017 and has four pillars that seek to advance U.S. leadership in space.

Those pillars include the need to transform space architectures to build up resiliency; strengthen warfighting and deterrence options; enhance foundational processes and capabilities through improved procurement methods and situational awareness; and support local and international environments through streamlined regulatory policies and frameworks.

The U.S. Navy‘s USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier has served as grounds for the F-35C Lightning II’s carrier qualification testing and completion.

Pilots within strike fighter squadrons 125 and 101 flew the F-35C through 140 obstacles to qualify the aircraft for day and night use, in preparation for operational testing anticipated later in 2018, the U.S. Navy said Friday.

The aircraft also exhibited its foldable-wing feature, a component needed for operating alongside other platforms such as F/A-18C Hornets, F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers as part of a carrier-based full air wing.

As part of the aircraft’s underway period, the USS Abraham Lincoln was equipped with the F-35’s Autonomic Logistic Information System, a platform that integrates and manages mission planning, maintenance, supply chain and sustainment data associated with the aircraft.

Previously, the carrier’s pilots pioneered the operational use of the Joint Precision Approach and Landing System through a carrier qualification effort that was held in late 2017.

The JPALS makes use of global positioning system technology to guide F-35Cs in landing through all types of weather.

The $1.3 trillion omnibus budget bill for fiscal year 2018 will fund the production of new wings for the U.S. Air Force‘s A-10 Warthog aircraft, Defense News reported Friday.

The spending measure includes $103 million for the A-10 wing replacement program and will cover funds needed to restart the A-10 wing production line and procure the first four wing sets.

President Donald Trump signed the omnibus spending bill on Friday after Congress passed the legislation on Thursday.

The Air Force said in a draft request for proposals posted in February that it could purchase up to 112 wing sets.

A draft schedule noted that the service branch plans to release a final RFP in April and award a contract as early as March 2019.

The Air Force has rewinged 173 A-10s and currently operates 109 Warthogs with their original wings.