U.S. Navy Adm. Cecil Haney, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, has said training, modernization and nuclear deterrence will work to support the U.S. national security mission amid the current global security environment, DoD News reported Friday.

Cheryl Pellerin writes that Haney noted the threat from both violent extremists such as the Islamic State militant group and state actors such as China, Russia, North Korea and Iran.

“Achieving comprehensive deterrence and assurance requires more than just nuclear weapons systems,” Haney said at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event Friday.

Haney said the U.S. should adopt what he called a “whole-of-government” approach that covers the priority areas of strategic deterrence, partnerships with allies, readiness for change or uncertainty and capabilities in warfighting, space and cyberspace.

The report said Haney cautioned against the potential “deterrence” impact of budget cuts on modernization as part of efforts to ensure strategic stability.

“We must modernize the force, including the people, to ensure this force remains capable of delivering strategic stability and foundational deterrence well into the future, even as we pursue third-offset strategic choices,” he said.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley has said the service branch has started to consider emerging platforms in the areas of robotics, biotechnology, transportation, nanotechnology, explosives and information technology as part of its readiness efforts, Army Times reported Thursday.

He said at the Association of the U.S. Army’s recent Institute of Land Warfare-hosted breakfast meeting that such technologies “are going to change not the nature of war, but they’re probably going to deeply change the character of war.”

Michelle Tan writes Milley noted that the military branch plans to set up brigades that would perform advise-and-assist missions as well as boost its reliance on the Army Reserve and Army National Guard as part of its efforts to build military readiness.

Sydney Freedberg Jr. also reports for Breaking Defense that the Army chief of staff also discussed the threats that Russia, China, Iran and North Korea pose to the U.S.

Milley called Russia “an existential threat” due to its military modernization efforts and nuclear weapons, according to the report.

French President Francois Hollande has said his government plans to strike a deal that would allow the government of India to buy 36 Dassault Aviation-built Rafale aircraft from France for approximately $9 billion, Reuters reported Sunday.

“It is this intergovernmental agreement that will allow a commercial transaction,” Hollande said Sunday during his three-day visit to India, according to the report.

Sanjeev Miglani writes Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has initiated efforts to facilitate business with French firms through defense technology deals in an effort to promote India’s domestic manufacturing sector.

Helene Fouquet also reports on Bloomberg that Hollande said the two countries are still in talks over the price of the fighter jets and that he was “optimistic” that a deal could be signed Monday.

A senior defense official for India told Bloomberg that India and France have reached an agreement on an option for the sale of 18 additional Rafale combat planes to India.

The two countries have also identified the type of weapons, systems and equipment that would be installed on the fighter planes, the official added.

Eric Fanning, nominee for the U.S. Army secretary post, said he plans to explore strategies to ensure military personnel readiness and reverse a proposed brigade size reduction at the Army if confirmed, Defense News reported Thursday.

Jen Judson writes Fanning also vowed to maximize the Army’s combat power during his nomination hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“We need to make sure the soldiers we are sending into harms way, into combat, are ready, fully trained and fully equipped,” he told SASC members Thursday, adding that he would encourage the Army to think creatively about how the military branch operates as a total force going forward.

If confirmed, Fanning said he will review a proposal to convert two of the Army’s 32 brigade combat teams into battalion task forces and downsize those units from 4,000 soldiers to 1,050.

His goals also include the formation of a rapid acquisition office focused on navigation, timing, electronic warfare, cyber and platform survivability technologies, Judson reports.