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 request for proposals for the next phase of the Global Positioning System III program will be released by the Air Force in December or January, with a contract award to follow by the spring of 2006, according to GPS Program Manager Col. Al Ballenger. The launch of the first GPS III spacecraft is planned for 2013. The Air Force requested $87 million for GPS III in fiscal year 2006. The request is slated to rise sharply to $237 million in FY 2007 and continue to grow until it reaches $1.4 billion by FY 2011 (DAILY, Feb. 7).
NASA is making slow progress in reforming its accounting practices and still is incapable of providing supportable financial statements, according to witnesses at an Oct. 27 hearing on Capitol Hill.
The Department of Homeland Security has begun flying missions with the Predator B unmanned aerial vehicle over Arizona's border with Mexico and so far credits the aircraft with 87 arrests of illegal border crossers. The flights began Oct. 4 and are taking place out of Ft. Huachuca, Ariz., according to Rowdy Adams, senior associate chief at the Office of Border Patrol. DHS purchased one General Atomics Predator B and one ground control station in late August, choosing the system over competitor Northrop Grumman's Hunter II.
