The Air Force is stepping up aircraft maintenance efforts as it works to reach an 80% readiness rate for fighter aircraft. The service is on track to fill out its maintenance ranks by the end of 2018.

As expected, the Defense Department will not pass its first audit. "We never thought we were going to pass an audit, right? Everyone was betting against us that we wouldn't even do the audit," Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan said.

The UK has confirmed its order for its next 17 Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets. So far the UK has received 16 F-35s.

South Korea has tapped Northrop Grumman to supply logistics support for its RQ-4 Global Hawk drones.

Al-Qahtani Aviation, owner of SaudiGulf Airlines, has ordered 10 Airbus A320neo passenger planes. The sale has a list-price value of $1.1 billion.

The Federal Communications Commission has given the green light to satellite constellations proposed by SpaceX, Kepler Communications, Telesat and LeoSat. Of the 8,000 satellites that received approval, more than 7,500 would come from SpaceX.

Members of the National Space Council's Users' Advisory Group want NASA to accelerate its timeline for returning humans to the lunar surface. "We can do it sooner," said Eileen Collins, a former space shuttle commander.

The Pentagon has updated cost projections for standing up a Space Force to $5 billion or less, much lower than the initial $13 billion estimate. "The president is going to be making some decisions to put forward a proposal in concert with his fiscal year 20 budget proposal that will go to the Congress in February," Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said.

The Pentagon has delivered its assessment of Turkey's planned purchase of 100 Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets and challenges arising from Turkey's planned purchase of Russia's S-400 missile defense system.

The Senate has shut down an effort led by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., to stop arms sales to Bahrain. It was one of several proposals aimed at curtailing US involvement in Yemen's civil war.