While the Defense Department is moving to conduct congressionally required environmental site surveys for ground-based interceptor bases on the U.S. East Coast, a final assessment about whether such installations will be needed in the first place has yet to be made, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey told lawmakers.

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO -- The Air Force has resumed full-capacity missile-warning coverage at a radar site in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska due to North Korea's recent ballistic missile threats, according to the chief of the Air Force's space mission.

Lawmakers want the defense secretary to submit a report on the policies and procedures across the department concerning information gathered from unmanned vehicles in the national airspace.

The Army will base a Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, for the next several years, according to defense officials.

The Defense Department is planning investments in polar communications in fiscal year 2014 and beyond to address an Arctic capability gap identified by U.S. Northern Command, according to command officials.

The Missile Defense Agency has awarded a $120 million development and testing contract to Huntsville, AL-based deciBel Research, Inc., to work on the Cobra Dane and other upgraded early warning radars.

The Army is looking for a contractor to support the deployment of a Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor system at a site within the United States for a combatant command exercise, according to a request for information posted to the Federal Business Opportunities website on Oct. 26.

The Government Accountability Office is recommending that the Air Force work with the Department of Homeland Security on finding a cost-effective way for the Civil Air Patrol to help with homeland security missions.

The Pentagon needs to improve coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, particularly to bolster plans for dealing with cyber attacks, according to the Government Accountability Office.

The Pentagon should build a missile defense site in the Northeast United States to help protect the nation from potential threats from Iran, a move that would take about six years from initial authorization to completion, according to recommendations in a new report issued by the National Academy of Sciences.

Results of this year's U.S. Army North-run training exercise to simulate response procedures in the event of a domestic nuclear terrorist attack showed that improvements could be made in the areas of response time and training sustainment, according to USARNORTH's deputy commanding general.

The Navy and Coast Guard plan to host a symposium on the Arctic in September at the Naval War College to identify and prioritize arctic capabilities and needs within the next five years, according to Cmdr. Blake McBride, Arctic affairs officer for Task Force Climate Change.

A deteriorating Air Force radar system that tracks drug smuggling in the Caribbean has prompted Puerto Rico Del. Pedro Pierluisi (D) to bypass the Defense Department in his search for the resources to keep the system running.

Senate authorizers want the defense secretary to provide annual reports on the Pentagon's progress on research and development to integrate unmanned drones into the national airspace and related funding needs.

House authorizers and appropriators disagree on whether the Pentagon should develop a multimillion-dollar East Coast missile defense system, but there is no formal process for reconciling such differences, according to House Appropriations Committee spokeswoman Jennifer Hing.

U.S. Southern Command and its partners lack the maritime assets needed to stop two-thirds of the traffickers they track, the command's top general said.

Army Secretary John McHugh has issued a new policy Army unmanned aerial vehicle operators must follow when flying these systems outside restricted military air space in U.S. skies.

As the Coast Guard continues to build the National Security Cutter, the fiscal year 2013 budget shouldn't be "too terrible" for the service, according to Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Robert Papp, who spoke last week at the Surface Navy Association's annual symposium in Arlington, VA.

The Department of Homeland Security plans to acquire a Wide Area Aerial Surveillance System to patrol U.S. borders, leveraging a capability rapidly developed by the Air Force to fight the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan by giving operators the ability to monitor an area the size of a small town with an "unblinking eye."

Senators are weighing a variety of amendments to the fiscal year 2012 defense authorization bill, including provisions that would codify audit-readiness dates, prohibit cost-type contracts and call for more cybersecurity cooperation between the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security.