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 first A-10 Thunderbolt upgraded with precision weapons capability is on track to begin flight-testing in December, according to Lockheed Martin. The Precision Engagement (PE) program for the A-10 is adding a targeting pod and Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) data link, as well as integrating the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) and Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser (WCMD) on the aging A-10. Most A-10s date back to the late 1970s or early 1980s, and the aircraft is expected to remain in service until 2028.
In an office-wide broad agency announcement (BAA) issued Sept. 8, DARPA's Special Projects Office (SPO) is seeking ideas from industry on topics ranging from countering underground facilities (UGFs) to urban combat and precision navigation in the absence of a Global Positioning System (GPS). The agency expects to begin awarding exploratory funding contracts of less than $1 million each in fiscal year 2005. All responses are due by Sept. 15, 2005.
NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center is planning to develop four new classes of high-altitude/long-endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicles for research missions over the next 14 years, according to John Del Frate, Dryden's project manager for HALE UAV technology development. Dryden's UAV technology work is moving away from the Joint Sponsored Research Agreement model, on which the center's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) UAV program was based, toward a more traditional competitive approach.
