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.
Spurred by strong support from FAA, the Access Five group is reprioritizing and accelerating elements of its four-step plan to enable routine access to the national airspace for high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles. "The effort is off the ground and moving, I think, probably at a pace much faster than we had anticipated," Access Five government lead Jeff Bauer told The DAILY. "Clearly what we're seeing within the FAA is much more interest, awareness and commitment of resources to UAVs in general."
Despite uncertain funding, NASA's aeronautics directorate hopes to fly a high-altitude unmanned aircraft by 2009 that is capable of staying aloft for 14 straight days without refueling. Although the budget is not yet in place to proceed to full-scale development, NASA engineers are hopeful they can sell agency leaders on the value of the aircraft as a means of studying hurricanes as they develop, according to Rich Wlezien, division director for vehicle systems at NASA headquarters.
By June 6 the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) plans to release a request for proposals for the Oblique Flying Wing (OFW) advanced technology demonstration program. "The goal of the OFW program is to expand the design space for future aircraft concepts, particularly for those missions that demand both supersonic speed and long endurance," DARPA said. The program will build a supersonic, tailless X-plane demonstrator.
