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.
Northrop Grumman completed its part of the U.S. Army's Extended Range/Multi-purpose (ER/MP) unmanned aerial vehicle fly-off at Fort Huachuca, Ariz., on Feb. 18, and competitor General Atomics is set to begin its demonstration flights Feb. 28. Northrop Grumman is offering the Hunter II UAV, based on the Israeli Heron UAV. The company brought three Hunter II demonstrators to Libby Army Airfield at Fort Huachuca and began flying demonstrations for Army officials on Jan. 31 (DAILY, Feb. 2).
Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) has reached an agreement with China Telecommunications Broadcast Satellite Corp. (ChinaSat) regarding the SS/L-built ChinaSat 8 spacecraft, whose delivery has been held up since 1998 by U.S. export licensing restrictions.
The first flight of Bell Helicopter's full-scale Eagle Eye unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) demonstrator should take place in Texas within the next three months, according to Robert Dompka, Bell's director of tiltrotor UAV programs. The Eagle Eye tiltrotor UAV is being developed for the Coast Guard as part of its Deepwater recapitalization program. The Coast Guard plans to buy 69 Eagle Eyes, which would be deployed on its new National Security Cutters and Offshore Patrol Cutters.
