The Center for a New American Security has launched a new project that will employ the help of a task force comprising industry leaders that will work to develop a new vision for collaboration between the Defense Department and industry partners.

CNAS said Wednesday the “Future Foundry: Forging New Industries for Defense” project will be led by Ben FitzGerald, CNAS technology and national security program director and senior fellow.

The task force will be joined by nine industry leaders and co-chaired by William Lynn, DRS Technologies CEO and a former deputy defense secretary secretary; and Sean O’Keefe, a retired NASA administrator and former CEO of Airbus‘ North American subsidiary.

The project seeks to build on the CNAS team’s two-year research on the challenges facing the global defense industry and in relation to the DoD’s technological efforts, the organization added.

The members of the task force are:

• Denis Bovin, a senior adviser at Evercore
• Marta Dassu, senior director of European affairs at The Aspen Institute
• John Fenwick, a co-founder of Terra Bella
• Nate Fick, CEO of Endgame
• Mark Koro, vice president for government affairs at Qualcomm
• Mike Leiter, executive vice president and head of integration at Leidos
• Ellen Lord, CEO of Textron‘s systems segment
• Greg Mallory, global aerospace and defense leader at BCG
• James Murdoch, CEO of 21st Century Fox

Defense Department Secretary Ashton Carter has said at the Council of Foreign Relations in New York that the deployment of a U.S. missile defense system in South Korea will push through, Reuters reported Friday.

David Brunnstrom writes Carter added that China, which has raised concerns over the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense deployment, should assist in efforts to counter North Korea’s missile development activities.

“It’s a necessary thing,” Carter said of the planned THAAD deployment.

“It’s between us and the South Koreans; it’s part of protecting our own forces on the Korean peninsula and protecting South Korea,” he added.

North Korea’s missile tests spurred talks between the U.S. and South Korea, but China opposes the agreement over concerns that THAAD could be used to spy on the latter’s territory, Defense News said Friday.

The THAAD system features six truck-mounted launchers, 49 interceptors, a fire control and communications unit and an AN/TPY-2 radar, Aaron Mehta wrote.

Carter has said he believes China can work either with the U.S. and South Korea or bilaterally with North Korea to address the missile concerns, the report said.

The U.S. Air Force deployed an undisclosed number of Boeing-built B-52 bombers to Qatar in a move to support defensive operations and respond to future contingencies in the Middle East against the Islamic State militant organization, Reuters reported Saturday.

Andrea Shalal writes Lt. Gen. Charles Brown, commander of the Air Forces Central Command, said the command plans to use the aircraft to support weapons delivery mission as well as perform close-air support, maritime and strategic attack operations in the region.

Lt. Col. Chris Karns, a spokesman for the Central Command, told Reuters that the service branch will not use the bombers in carpet bombing operations since the Islamic State organization does not assemble in large groups.

The B-52 aircraft has eight Pratt & Whitney-built TF33-P-3/103 turbofan engines and is designed to carry up to 70,000 pounds of air-launched cruise missiles, bombs, miniature air-launched decoys and other weapons.

The U.S. government will grant approximately $120 million in military aid to the Philippines in 2016 at the largest amount of support in approximately 15 years , Reuters reported Friday.

Manuel Mogato writes Jose Cuisia, Philippine ambassador to the U.S., told American Chamber of Commerce members in Manila Friday the Philippines is negotiating with the U.S. terms to  a fourth Hamilton-class ship in an effort to patrol waters.

Cuisia said the aid from the U.S. government will help support the Philippines’ defense and security efforts, Reuters reported

Cuisia added the annual military aid increased to $79 million from an estimated $50 million in 2015 while an additional $42 million will be given to Manila under the new U.S. Southeast Asia Maritime Initiative, Mogato wrote.