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.
Under pressure from the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to control costs, Boeing is trying to find "synergies" with its upcoming new, larger 747 commercial airliner that could make the installation of the laser on future Airborne Laser (ABL) aircraft less expensive than the first. The ABL team is working with Boeing's commercial aircraft division on "numerous" ideas, Boeing ABL Program Director Greg Hyslop said Sept. 26 during a briefing at the Air Force Association symposium in Washington.
Lockheed Martin is developing a variant of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter's electro-optical targeting system for use on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and hopes to fly a demonstration within the next year and a half. Known as ALERT (Advanced Low-observable Embedded Reconnaissance and Targeting), the package weighs about 225 pounds. Lockheed Martin envisions it possibly flying on UAVs such as General Atomics' Predator B, Northrop Grumman's Global Hawk, and the U.S. Navy's upcoming Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS-N).
NASA Associate Administrator for Aeronautics Lisa Porter defended the agency's restructured aeronautics program during a House Science subcommittee hearing Sept. 26, fielding questions from lawmakers skeptical that the program can remain relevant given its shrinking budget profile.
