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.
NATO member countries are likely to agree to common funding of more and more aspects of alliance operations in the future, according to Daniel Freed, assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs. The push toward common funding has been led primarily by Poland and Spain, Freed said during a Defense Writers Group breakfast in Washington Nov. 21.
The recent successful on-orbit checkout of the first Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) High highly elliptical orbit (HEO) payload bodes well for the ongoing development of the future geosynchronous (GEO) sensor, according to U.S. Air Force space officials.
The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) has released $60 million in fiscal 2006 and 2007 funds to the Joint Common Missile (JCM) program. The Army received $51 million and the Navy $9 million, according to an OSD spokeswoman. An industry source told The DAILY that Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England had been scheduled to meet with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to discuss the program and make a formal decision on JCM. OSD said it is too early to comment on the missile's long-term future.
