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.
NASA should remain involved in rotorcraft research, Director of Army Aviation Brig. Gen. Stephen Mundt told Capitol Hill lawmakers during a hearing in Washington Feb. 1. "We need your help in keeping NASA involved," Mundt told members of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces. "NASA needs to stay involved in the rotary wing industry, and they need to stay involved in helping us bring [forward] the technologies that will help our rotorcraft."
Army and Marine Corps leaders defended their services' commitment to soldier protection at a hearing on Capitol Hill Feb. 1, responding to recent press reports on the effectiveness of vehicle and body armor. "Force protection is the Army's number one priority," Maj. Gen. Stephen Speakes, director of force development for the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army, told lawmakers during a hearing of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces. "We will continue to improve force protection relentlessly."
The Army hopes to be able to rethink its acquisition strategy for the Aerial Common Sensor program and restart the competition in 2009 following a new study by the Pentagon on joint airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance requirements. The service chose to terminate prime contractor Lockheed Martin's $879 million ACS development contract rather than proceed with any of the company's proposed options for saving the program following the revelation last year that the company's chosen ACS aircraft was too small.
