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.
After months of wrangling, congressional leaders are reaching some kind of consensus on a bill to extend by three years the Export-Import Bank's authority to operate, with a cap of $140 billion. The House is expected to vote on the bill this week. It had been held up over concerns that foreign airlines were using Ex-Im financing to buy Boeing widebody jets that gave them an advantage against U.S. air carriers, most notably Delta Air Lines, which along with the trade group Airlines for America is suing to block Ex-Im loan guarantees to Air India.
Now that Congress has ordered the FAA to get moving on integrating unmanned aircraft into civil airspace, Northrop Grumman chief Wes Bush is talking up all the wondrous things UAVs can do. But he is also warning industry not to underestimate the need to address public concerns. Speaking to the Aero Club recently, he portrayed as a huge step the mandate that the FAA establish six UAV test ranges by this August and integrate such aircraft into the National Airspace System by September 2015.
U.S. military sales to India may have grown to $8 billion since 2005, but even as the relationship has become closer, U.S. officials are still trying to promote the idea that foreign military sales (FMS) are better than direct commercial sales (DCS). The U.S. has long battled the notion that it is giving preferential pricing through FMS to other countries—a cost imbalance can be attributed to differences in training and assistance. After returning from a recent trip to India, the State Department's Andrew Shapiro points out that FMS brings with it the backing of the U.S.
