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.
Competing teams led by Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman continue to await the delayed downselect decision in the Unmanned Combat Armed Rotorcraft (UCAR) program, which team leaders hope will occur by the end of this year or early next year.
The U.S. Army is considering an early fielding of Northrop Grumman's Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in 2006, according to company officials. In 2003 the Future Combat Systems (FCS) lead systems integrator team of Boeing and Science Applications International Corp. chose the RQ-8B Fire Scout as the FCS Class IV UAV, the largest UAV in the program. Northrop Grumman is contracted to deliver seven Fire Scout vehicles to the Army for fielding as part of FCS in 2008, in anticipation of initial operational capability (IOC) in 2011.
Following an extensive analysis, the Army has doubled the amount of time between major inspections of the AH-64 Apache helicopter, increasing it from 250 flight hours to 500 hours. This move was made possible by more than two and a half years of analysis of Apache maintenance and reliability records, which showed that Apache crews often were spending time inspecting components needlessly, according to Apache program manager Col. Ralph Palotta (USA).
