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.
Advanced Concept Technology Demonstrations (ACTDs) should become the standard method of introducing new technology into defense acquisition, according to Jacques S. Gansler, professor and Roger C. Lipitz Chair at the Center for Public Policy and Private Enterprise at the University of Maryland. "Think about Global Hawk, for example," Gansler said during a defense acquisition reform seminar in Washington, D.C. June 6. He pointed out that in only five years, Global Hawk went from initial concept to conducting operations in Portugal and Australia.
The U.S. government must adopt a "new way of thinking" about its allies if it wants to ensure efficient joint coalition operations, said Jacques S. Gansler, professor and Roger C. Lipitz Chair at the Center for Public Policy and Private Enterprise at the University of Maryland. Gansler, who served as under secretary of defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics from 1997 until January of this year, made his remarks at a defense acquisition reform seminar in Washington, D.C. June
The government aerospace contracting system is designed to provide only modest profit margins, so contractors should not aim for the profit levels that typify successful companies in other industries, according to W. David Thompson, president of Spectrum Astro.
