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.
Unable to secure further funding support from the Army, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has chosen to cancel the third phase of the Unmanned Combat Armed Rotorcraft (UCAR) program, an industry source told The DAILY. DARPA and the Army originally planned to split the cost of the $500 million program roughly 50/50, with DARPA paying most of its share in the early years, including two-thirds of the cost of Phase III. However, the Army pulled its support earlier this year to pay for other aviation priorities (DAILY, Sept. 20).
The Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite communications program has fallen a year behind schedule and gone $1 billion over budget due to delays in the delivery of cryptographic user equipment being furnished by the National Security Agency (NSA), according to the Air Force. Facing a 20% overrun on the $5 billion program, the Air Force on Dec. 3 notified Congress that AEHF was in violation of the Nunn-McCurdy Act. If the overrun reaches 25%, the program will have to be certified as essential by the Pentagon or face cancellation.
