Navy Adm. Cecil Haney, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, has said he believes two space threat deterrence programs can help the country thwart potential adversary attacks on national security satellites, Space News reported Tuesday.

Mike Gruss writes Haney told audience at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium that the Defense Department and the intelligence community have established the Joint Interagency Combined Space Operations Center at Schriever Air Force Base in an effort to help address emerging threats in space.

Haney added he believes the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program can serve as a deterrent to space security threats, according to the report.

The report said the U.S. Air Force sent two Orbital ATK-built GSSAP satellites into orbit in 2014 and is scheduled to launch two similar satellites Friday.

The Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City division and Germany’s Bundeswehr Technical Center for Ships and Naval Weapons, Maritime Technology and Research have started preparations for the first milestone of a joint project to advance the detection, classification and mapping of underwater munitions.

The U.S. Navy said Friday U.S. and German mine warfare experts will utilize technology such as acoustic and magnetic sensors for activities at the Baltic Sea in September as part of the Allied Munitions Detection Underwater program.

“We are seeking to bring together the best of our unexploded ordnance detection capabilities and merge them with those of the Germans, so that both countries can learn and benefit from developments ongoing in the other country,” said Jesse Angle, a physicist with NSWC PCD.

Navy noted ALMOND seeks to conduct international sea trials and workshops to help develop and test unmanned autonomous survey concepts into a mature system concept design that the Naval Sea Systems Command expeditionary missions program office will transition to the fleet.

The joint program aims to deliver a detailed technical report on the sea trials, sensor/test bed, signal and information processing techniques, hardware and software development and recommendations for transition, the service branch added.

Rear Adm. Brian Brakke, former deputy director of operations and intelligence integration at the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, has assumed a new role as head of the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command.

The U.S. Navy said Friday Brakke officially took command of NECC from Rear Adm. Frank Morneau during a ceremony at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story in Virginia.

Morneau also received a Distinguished Service Medal Gold Star end-of-tour award at the ceremony to signify his retirement after 33 years of service, the Navy added.

Brakke said he intends to support distributed fleet operations and logistics based on the Design for Maintaining Maritime Superiority guidance of Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson.

In his former role, Brakke helped provide operational information, intelligence and technology support to combatant commanders as they worked to counter IED threat networks.

He also worked as director of the Counter-IED Operation/Intelligence Integration Center alongside his position at JIEDDO.

He joined the Navy in 1984 and has served as chief of staff of NECC Pacific.

NECC aims to provide expeditionary forces that can be deployed for a range of worldwide military operations and perform sea-to-shore and inland operating environment tasks.