Air Force Gen. John Hyten, head of the U.S. Strategic Command, has said the U.S. Navy could work with the U.S. Air Force to develop an airborne command-and-control aircraft that will replace the Navy’s E-6B fleet, Defense News reported Wednesday.

Aaron Mehta writes Hyten told Congress members the Navy has started planning for the development of an E-6B replacement aircraft and that the service branch aims to deploy the platform by 2038.

“We’re only 20 years from 2038, so if you’re going to build large aircraft with huge command and control [requirements], you have to start thinking about those things right now,” said Hyten, an inductee into Executive Mosaic‘s Wash100 for 2017.

E-6B is based on Boeing‘s 707 commercial aircraft and designed to provide airborne command, control and communications support.

Adm. Bill Moran, vice chief of naval operations, said the E-6B replacement program could align the Air Force’s efforts to replace other 707-based command and control platforms such as the E-8C joint surveillance target attack radar system, E-3 airborne warning and control system and OC-135B Open Skies aircraft, FlightGlobal reported Wednesday.

Moran added that the Navy and Air Force should consider a joint program since the two military branches have similar requirements for aircraft size and shape, capacity and endurance.

WikiLeaks has released more than 7,000 webpages of documents on software tools and techniques alleged used by CIA and allied intelligence agencies to gain access to computers, smartphones and other personal devices, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

Andrew Lehren, Matthew Rosenberg and Scott Shane write that the WikiLeaks release dubbed Vault 7 covers instructions on how to compromise computer tools such as Skype and commercial antivirus programs.

The report said the documents, dated from 2013 to 2016, are from CIA’s Center for Cyber Intelligence and have potentially been circulated among former government hackers and contractors, one of whom WikiLeaks claims to be a source.

James Lewis, a cybersecurity expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the New York Times he believes a foreign state instead might have led the hacking and delivered the information to WikiLeaks.

Reuters reported Wednesday that U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials also believe a contractor might have breached security and provided the hacking documents.

The report noted companies that have worked with CIA are looking into their computer logs, access allocation and communications to determine if any of their contractors may have been involved in the breach.

Both the Senate and House intelligence committees plan to open inquiries into the data breach, the report added.

“CIA is legally prohibited from conducting electronic surveillance targeting individuals here at home, including our fellow Americans, and CIA does not do so,” the agency noted in a statement issued Wednesday.

“[The WikiLeaks disclosures] not only jeopardize U.S. personnel and operations, but also equip our adversaries with tools and information to do us harm.”

The Senate Armed Services Committee voted 23-2 to permit Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster to serve as national security adviser while on active duty, Defense News reported Tuesday.

Joe Gould writes McMaster appeared before the committee since senators need to approve generals above two-star rank even though the national security adviser post does not require Senate consent.

Sen. Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island) said there is an opportunity for a Senate floor debate on McMaster’s appointment along with topics such as civil-military balance and the National Security Council’s responsibilities.

President Donald Trump picked McMaster to be his national security adviser in February after Michael Flynn resigned from the role.

McMaster previously headed the U.S. Army‘s Capabilities Integration Center and commanded troops during the first Gulf War.

The report said his appointment will move forward for a vote by the full Senate.

The U.S. Army‘s Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center has moved its flight activity into a new R&D aircraft hangar at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey.

The service branch said Monday that facility will house the CERDEC flight activity’s fleet of fixed and rotor wing aircraft platforms that include Sikorsky-built UH-60M Black Hawk, Beechcraft-manufactured RC-12 Huron and UV-18 Twin Otter aircraft.

The hangar features an aircraft component and avionics maintenance shop along with administrative facilities, a rotor wing landing pad and fixed wing taxiway designed to boost mission capacity at JBMDL.

CFA Director Charles Maraldo said the features of the hangar will help CERDEC engineers, fabricators, integrators and pilots support aspects of airborne experimentation in a single environment.

“The work done in this hangar supports aviation research and development that is critical to continue advancing our C4ISR,” said Rep. Chris Smith (R-New Jersey).

CFA offers aviation platform sensor development and integration services to academic institutions, government agencies and industry partners on Defense Department missions.

The Army noted that the 20-mile-wide JBMDL can be accessed by industry and government laboratories on the East Coast and provides radio frequency spectrum, restricted airspace and topography to support aerial experimentation in communications, electronic warfare, radar and signals intelligence.