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 new request for proposals (RFP) for the Joint Cargo Aircraft (JCA) is largely the same as the draft RFP for the Future Cargo Aircraft (FCA) released by the Army last year prior to the Air Force coming onboard the program, according to competitor Raytheon. "It looks very much like the draft," said Jim Hvizd, Raytheon's Team JCA vice president. "The Army and Air Force have clearly collaborated in a positive way. The order quantities, most of the contractual terms and conditions ... have remained pretty much the same."
The U.S. Air Force and contractor Lockheed Martin are upgrading 33 long-range air defense radars located in the continental U.S., according to company officials. Three complete upgrades to the radars have been completed over the past two years, with a third and fourth upgrade scheduled over the next two years, according to Ed Lane, product support program manager at Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems and Sensors in Syracuse, N.Y. Most of the systems were fully manned when originally fielded, according to Lane, but now all but 10 are unmanned.
Proposed NATO common funding for strategic airlift could get a profile boost this year as the trans-Atlantic alliance increasingly eyes an expanded logistics-support mission in Darfur, Sudan.
