Based in Washington, Jen managed Aviation Week’s worldwide defense, space and security coverage from 2013 to January 2024.
Prior to taking on the Executive Editor role, Jen was Aviation Week's Congressional Editor. Jen came to Aviation Week in March 2011 from Politico, where she covered the intersection of defense and politics. She also worked as a reporter and editor for Defense Daily, Inside the Army, The Other Paper and The Columbus Dispatch.
Jen received a Master’s degree in journalism as a Kiplinger Fellow at the Ohio State University. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in history and journalism from the University of Michigan.
BAD SIGN: As the Pentagon has sought to rein in out-of-control costs and contracting, it has increasingly used fixed-price contracts. But in just three years, the number of services contracts awarded on a lowest-price technically acceptable (LPTA) basis increased by 40%, a rate one expert calls “disturbing.” The use of LPTA contracts is appropriate, particularly when buying commodities, but the government has leaned too far in their direction, says Ray Bjorklund, vice president of Deltek.
The Pentagon will ask for more cash to purchase Rafael’s Iron Dome short-range rocket and mortar defense system for Israel, a request Congress is eager to support. Last year, the U.S. provided $204 million for the system. Now the Obama administration says it is working with Israel to shore up U.S. support for buying more Iron Dome systems, “and intends to request an appropriate level of funding from Congress to support such acquisitions based on Israeli requirements and production capacity,” says Pentagon spokesman George Little.
The House will take up Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) budget resolution this week. It is likely to pass in the Republican-controlled House, despite a push by some GOP lawmakers to further reduce the overall amount of spending. The Senate is currently proceeding with levels passed by Congress last August: $1.047 trillion in discretionary spending across the government. Ryan has said the U.S. should spend just $1.028 trillion, level off cuts to defense and buy back the first year of a penalty due to kick in next January without further deficit reduction.
