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 ability of future Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles (UCAVs) to take off, land, and even make repairs autonomously will be the key factor that allows UCAV operators to control more than one aircraft at a time, according to Boeing's Navy UCAV (UCAV-N) Program Manager Bill Buschelle. Both the Navy and the Air Force have tasked UCAV contractors with developing control interfaces that will allow a single operator to manage four aircraft at once. In comparison, a single Air Force Predator unmanned aerial vehicle currently requires three people to operate.
NASA is preparing to launch two earth science satellites - the joint U.S./French oceanography satellite Jason-1, as well as the TIMED (Thermosphere, Ionosphere, Mesosphere, Energetics and Dynamics) satellite - from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. aboard a Delta II rocket Dec. 7. Jason 1, which was designed as a follow-on to the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite, will monitor world ocean circulation, study the interaction of the oceans with the atmosphere, improve climate predictions, and observe events like El Nino.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is considering advancing the contractor downselect for the Navy Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV-N) to next year in order to provide more funding for the winning team, UCAV-N contractor Boeing told The DAILY.
