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.
Advocates for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) research at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) hope that the modest request of $3.3 million for UAV activity at the agency in fiscal 2008 will plant the programmatic seeds for the extensive use of UAVs in support of weather prediction and global warming research.
U.S. civil UAV operations are literally heating up, as NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center readies its Ikhana to fly over wildfires and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration embarks on an effort to use UAVs in support of weather forecasting and global warming research.
Within the next few weeks, NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California expects to have finalized an agreement to transfer two of the oldest U.S. Air Force Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over to NASA ownership. The two UAVs, which currently are parked outside a hangar at nearby Edwards Air Force Base, are expected to be transported to Dryden in October, according to Dryden spokesman Alan Brown. Produced in the program's advanced concept technology demonstration (ACTD) configuration, they are Global Hawks #1 and #6.
