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.
Autonomous pedestrian and traffic avoidance as well as better communications for tele-operation top the list of technologies needed for the unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) in the Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program, according to Scott Fish, chief UGV engineer for FCS co-lead SAIC.
Development of the Boeing X-45C and Northrop Grumman X-47B Joint Unmanned Combat Air System (J-UCAS) vehicles is continuing for now with available fiscal 2006 funding, despite uncertainty over what happens in FY '07, when J-UCAS is scheduled to end.
The U.S. Air Force is requesting $9.8 billion for space programs in fiscal 2007, which is up $500 million from FY '06 and represents about 19 percent of the Air Force's total modernization funding for the year, according to service officials. The biggest single space program for FY '07 will be the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV), which is requesting $955 million. The request funds four launches and includes roughly $300 million to allow EELV providers Lockheed Martin and Boeing to sustain their infrastructure independent of launch rate.
