Jeff has been involved in aerospace journalism since the mid 1990s. Prior to joining Aviation Week, Jeff served as managing editor of Launchspace magazine and the International Space Industry Report. He has been the editor and chief of Aviation Week's Aerospace Daily & Defense Report since 2007 and has been a regular contributor to Aviation Week magazine. He received his B.A. from the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
The Senate passed its $54 billion fiscal 2008 Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) appropriations bill (H.R. 3093) by a vote of 75-19 on the evening of Oct. 16, approving a $17.5 billion budget for NASA and $4.2 billion for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Passage of the bill brightens somewhat NASA's prospects of not having to suffer through another year-long continuing budget resolution for FY '08 - which would amount to about a billion-dollar cut from the agency's request - although the bill faces a showdown with the White House.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued 22 safety recommendations springing from its first investigation of an unmanned aircraft accident - the 2006 crash of a Predator B while flying a mission for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in Arizona.
The technology mismatch between the U.S. and its allies is growing, particularly in the area of C4 systems, according to Gen. David McKiernan, commander of U.S. Army forces in Europe. "There's a growing concern that they are technologically mismatched with us," McKiernan said during a breakfast with defense reporters in Washington Oct. 11. "I think that's something that NATO has to pay attention to."
