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 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) plan in the event the QuikSCAT satellite fails could mitigate the loss of its data "very effectively" and preserve the quality of hurricane forecasting, a NOAA laboratory director told House lawmakers July 19.
The Defense Department has asked Congress for the right to reprogram an additional $1.2 billion in fiscal 2007 funds to build 2,650 more Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. The new reprogramming, added to $443 million in U.S. Marine Corps procurement money that was already being shifted to MRAP, brings the total FY '07 reprogramming for the vehicles to nearly $1.6 billion.
The Defense Department is accepting risk in its attempt to maximize production of the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle and ship more vehicles into theater as quickly as possible, according to John Young, director of defense research and engineering and head of the MRAP Task Force. "The program is not being handled in a business-as-usual fashion," Young said at the Pentagon July 18. The production acceleration means DOD will be eschewing some documentation and testing requirements for the sake of expediency, he said.
