Inside the Pentagon highlights

Some must-reads from this week's issue of Inside the Pentagon:

1. The Defense Department, along with the rest of the federal government, will release its fiscal year 2019 budget request on Feb. 12, according to the White House Office of Management and Budget.

Full story: OMB: Pentagon to submit FY-19 budget Feb. 12

2. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has successfully lobbied the White House to increase the Pentagon's fiscal year 2019 base budget by approximately $35 billion to $40 billion, according to government sources and analysts with knowledge of the negotiations.

Full story: Sources: Mattis went to Trump for Pentagon budget growth -- and got it

3. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said last week the new National Defense Strategy emphasizes military capability over capacity, increasing the Pentagon's focus on new investments in high-end technologies aimed at "great power competition" with China and Russia.

Full story: Mattis' new strategy emphasizes modernization and capability over military size

4. President Trump's nominee for the top technology post at the Pentagon believes boost-phase missile defenses could be rapidly deployed to counter North Korea's ballistic missile program, arguing only "will" has prevented the Defense Department from doing so already.

Full story: Nominee for top Pentagon tech job endorses boost-phase missile defense