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.
In partnership with ATK, NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate is planning a hypersonic flight-test next year from the agency's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia to study a problem that challenged aerodynamicists during the space shuttle's first return-to-flight mission last year. The problem is understanding the boundary layer transition - the point at which air flow over an aerodynamic surface traveling at hypersonic speeds (i.e., above Mach 5) changes from smooth to turbulent.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has opted to end the X-50A Dragonfly unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) program, which was attempting to pioneer a new type of helicopter capable of stopping its rotor in flight and cruising as a fixed-wing jet until it lost both of its flight prototypes in crashes.
The U.S. Army plans to fund the Lockheed Martin-led Joint Common Missile (JCM) program in fiscal 2008 at a level of roughly $140 million to $150 million, according to Army budget director Lt. Gen. Jerry Sinn. "When we put this POM [Program Objective Memorandum] together, we're going to fund it," Sinn said following a breakfast in Arlington, Va., Sept. 7. "And I suspect when we do that, all else will follow." The POM will be sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), after which the White House's final FY '08 budget request will be finalized.
