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 U.S. Air Force's program executive officer (PEO) for the F-22 Raptor says the overall design is stable and the program is prepared to enter a multiyear production contract, despite a number of design problems currently being grappled with. The problems "are all normal occurrences in a new platform out there in the field," Maj. Gen. Richard Lewis said June 16. Such issues typically only emerge when an aircraft has become operational and flown significant flight hours. The F-22 was declared operational in December.
The Lockheed Martin/General Atomics Mariner unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) demonstrator has flown three homeland security-focused demonstrations so far as part of the U.S. Navy's Trident Warrior exercise, and on June 16 is slated to perform a battle damage assessment during a live-fire event. Trident Warrior '06, which began June 13, is a Navy-sponsored event for experimenting with network-centric warfare capabilities. The West Coast-based exercise wraps up June 17.
Robot manufacturer iRobot is negotiating with potential industry partners about jointly developing and offering to the services an armed version of the company's PackBot in response to requests from U.S. troops overseas.
