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.
The Pentagon’s massive civilian workforce will be hit hardest and fastest if potential across-the-board federal budget cuts take hold in January, a Washington-based budget analyst says.
When it comes to managing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) programs, the Air Force is looking for pointers from all corners of the Pentagon. It ordered a recent National Research Council (NRC) report that finds lessons for Air Force ISR from across the other services. Both the Army and Navy follow procedures that foster strong ISR program management, according to the report. The Army wins high marks for the way it connects requirements analysis, force development and portfolio management, the report states, and the Navy deploys equipment successfully.
Three years after then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates scrapped Lockheed Martin's VH-71 program to replace presidential helicopters—erroneously slamming it for requiring the capability “to cook dinner while in flight under nuclear attack”—the Pentagon has finally re-initiated the procurement. Addressing concerns about the previous program's penchant for costly, leap-ahead technology, the Navy's new plan draws on mature technology to satisfy user requirements. But the current fleet of nearly 40-year-old helicopters will still be in service for quite some time.
