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 Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is delaying development of a second aircraft in the Airborne Laser (ABL) program until after ABL's first scheduled shootdown test in late 2008. The delaying of trade studies and initial engineering on the second aircraft will allow for more refinement of the design, the agency said in budget documents released Feb. 6.
The U.S. Air Force is requesting $9.8 billion for space programs in fiscal 2007, which is up $500 million from FY '06 and represents about 19 percent of the Air Force's total modernization funding for the year, according to service officials. The biggest single space program for FY '07 will be the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV), which is requesting $955 million. The request funds four launches and includes roughly $300 million to allow EELV providers Lockheed Martin and Boeing to sustain their infrastructure independent of launch rate.
The U.S. Army's topline budget request for fiscal 2007 is $110.4 billion, which includes $3.566 billion for aircraft purchases and $3.311 billion for the Future Combat Systems program. The topline request is scheduled to rise steadily over the next few years, reaching $123.4 billion in FY '11, according to service officials.
