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 Army's Future Combat System (FCS) program plans to make unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) an indispensable part of a new kind of network-centric warfighting unit. "FCS is the heart of the transformed, network-centric Army," said Jim Walbert, director of science and technology at the office of the project manager for the Army's Objective Force, speaking in Washington, D.C. Aug. 28.
Boeing's long-delayed three-stage prototype booster for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense Segment (GMDS) missile defense program is scheduled to have its first live-fire test Friday, Aug. 31, with another test planned in December. The test is "just to make sure the booster works," according to Boeing Spokeswoman Monica Aloisio. The missile will not attempt to intercept any targets. Launch will take place from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, after which the booster will land in the ocean.
Although NASA's Space Launch Initiative (SLI) propulsion effort is largely focused on the near-term challenges of the second-generation reusable launch vehicle (RLV), the program is already working on systems for the third generation and beyond. This kind of parallel development has been sorely missing from NASA's previous propulsion efforts, according to SLI Propulsion Project Office Manager Garry Lyles. "We've finally put in place, I believe, a sound technology program for the long term," Lyles told The DAILY.
