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.
Around mid-November, NASA's Hyper-X demonstrator, the X-43A, will make a second attempt to fly at Mach 7 after being released by a modified Pegasus booster rocket in the skies over Edwards, Calif. The 12-foot Hyper-X is a scramjet-powered test aircraft designed to advance hypersonic (i.e., faster than Mach 5) air-breathing engine technology. The Orbital Sciences-built Hyper-X Launch Vehicle (HXLV), based on the company's Pegasus XL, boosts the X-43A to its release altitude of 95,000 feet after being dropped from the wing of a B-52.
The Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL) Directed Energy Directorate has awarded Boeing a $23 million contract to develop a mobile test bed for tactical laser beam control technologies. Dubbed the Mobile Active Targeting Resource for Integrated eXperiments (MATRIX) test bed, it will allow for the evaluation of new beam control algorithms as well as sensors for aiming, target acquisition, and target identification.
An F-5E fighter with a modified fuselage completed its first flight in Florida July 24, in preparation for a joint test program with the ultimate goal of developing aircraft that make quieter sonic booms.
