Based in Washington, Jen manages Aviation Week’s worldwide defense, space and security coverage.
Prior to taking on her current role, Jen was Aviation Week's Congressional Editor. Jen came to Aviation Week in March 2011 from Politico, where she covered the intersection of defense and politics. She also worked as a reporter and editor for Defense Daily, Inside the Army, The Other Paper and The Columbus Dispatch.
Jen received a Master’s degree in journalism as a Kiplinger Fellow at the Ohio State University. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in history and journalism from the University of Michigan.
FURLOUGHS SHORTENED: Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has reduced furloughs for civilian Defense Department employees from 11 days to six, but that may come at the expense of weapons systems as the Pentagon continues to wrestle with budget cuts. “Hoping to be able to reduce furloughs, we submitted a large reprogramming proposal to Congress in May, asking them to let us move funds from acquisition accounts into day-to-day operating accounts,” Hagel said in announcing the changes to anticipated furloughs.
The Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee approved a $594.4 billion bill to fund the Pentagon and its wartime operations in fiscal 2014 that guts the administration’s request to purchase 20 Embraer A-29 Super Tucanos for the Afghan Air Force under the Light Air Support (LAS) program. The draft of the defense spending bill would slice $416.8 million for LAS and also remove all funding for the purchase of Mi-17 helicopters for Afghanistan.
Unmanned-aircraft makers and their big-league lobby group, the Aerospace Industries Association, are forecasting a ramped-up public relations campaign to demystify UAVs and warn against allowing them to suffer from export restrictions akin to those weathered by the U.S. commercial satellite industry over the last decade and a half (see page 46).
