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 Government Accountability Office (GAO) is recommending that the Department of Defense limit production of the Air Force's Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) until the program demonstrates an integrated system and develops a better business case to justify future investments. Because of cost and schedule problems, planned quantities of the Northrop Grumman-built UAV have decreased 19 percent and unit costs have increased 75 percent since the approved beginning of system development, according to GAO.
The final downselect for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Organic Air Vehicle II (OAV II) program is expected in early April, according to a spokesman for Aurora Flight Sciences. Aurora is competing in OAV II with a team led by Honeywell, which was the prime contractor on DARPA's OAV I program. OAV II is intended to mature the technology of ducted-fan unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and prepare it to serve as the Class II UAV in the Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program.
The fiscal 2008 Air Force budget will put greater emphasis on operationally responsive space (ORS) systems, Undersecretary Ron Sega told lawmakers during a hearing on Capitol Hill March 16. "I believe [ORS] should have a greater role in our look forward in space," Sega told members of the House Armed Services Strategic Forces subcommittee. Responsive space already has been part of early discussions on the FY '08 budget request, Sega said. "I would look on that as having a more prominent role going forward."
