Defense Department Comptroller Mike McCord said at a House Armed Services Committee hearing Wednesday that DoD will continue to work toward achieving a clean audit opinion, DoD News reported Thursday.

Jim Garamone writes McCord told committee members the department’s current strategy to achieve full audit accountability is a key element of Defense Secretary Ashton Carter’s reform plan.

“Combined with the successful recurring audits of other parts of the department that we’ve had for several years, about 90 percent of our [fiscal] ’15 budget was audited,” he said during the HASC meeting.

“We learned a great deal from our initial effort and will be back at it for… [fiscal] ’17.”

McCord added DoD will issue contracts for the third-party assessment of DoD financial statements in fiscal year 2018, according to the report.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency plans to demonstrate a positioning, navigation and timing system that will use very low frequency band signals as backup in case military forces lose access to GPS networks.

Lin Haas, DARPA strategic technology officer, discussed the Spatial, Temporal and Orientation Information in Contested Environments project at DARPA Demo Day, the U.S. Army said May 19.

DARPA plans to demonstrate the STOIC system by fiscal year 2018 or 2019 while an at-sea demo will be conducted this year.

Haas said the agency is working with the Army Communications Electronics Research Development and Engineering Command to develop STOIC as a backup PNT system that will provide global coverage and support application for naval surface and aviation.

There are VLF stations in fixed locations across the globe and the U.S. Navy uses VLF signals to communicate with submarines.

Haas showed a video wherein a vehicle’s route was tracked through a combination of inertial navigation and a VLF signal.

The Army said the line that tracked the route moved “erratically” but stayed near the vehicle and Haas explained these movements as the effect of magnetic interference from things in the area.

Haas added DARPA is working to address the interference and it does not affect aerial or at-sea tracking.

The U.S. Navy has assigned the name USS Arkansas to SSN 800, a Virginia-class attack submarine scheduled for construction in 2018.

The Defense Department said Wednesday the submarine is the fifth naval ship to bear the name and is scheduled to enter the military branch’s fleet in 2023.

“She will sail the world like those who have gone before her, defending the American people and representing our American values through presence,” said Navy Secretary Ray Mabus.

Submarines under the Virginia class feature stealth surveillance and special warfare systems designed to help the Navy conduct various missions.

Virginia-class warships are designed to attack targets ashore with the use of Tomahawk cruise missiles and to perform surveillance on land areas, littoral waters and sea-based forces.

General Dynamics’ Electric Boat subsidiary and Huntington Ingalls Industries division Newport News Shipbuilding will collaborate to build SSN 800 under a teaming agreement.

NNS will be responsible for the delivery of the submarine to the Navy.

Adm. Bill Gortney, former commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command, has officially retired from his 39-year military service.

The U.S. Navy said Tuesday a ceremony was held aboard Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington for Gortney, who recorded more than 5,300 flight hours and completed 1,265 carrier-arrested landings in his career.

Gortney’s career includes leadership of several Navy organizations such as U.S. Fleet Forces Command and U.S. Central Command area of operations, where he provided support to maritime security and combat operations.

Adm. John Richardson, chief of naval operations, also gave Gortney’s wife Sherry a Distinguished Public Service Award for her support to military members and their families.