Steve covers military aviation, missiles and space for the Aviation Week Network, based in Washington.
Born in a U.S. Air Force family, he grew up on military bases around the world and came to Washington in 1997 to work for Army Times Publishing Co. as a journalist. Steve helped launch the Military.com portal in 2000, then joined the editorial team for Aviation Week’s web site in 2001. He reported on the Pentagon for Aerospace Daily in 2002 and 2003.
From September 2003 to September 2018, Steve covered defense and aviation issues and managed staff as the U.S. bureau chief for Jane’s Defence Weekly and later FlightGlobal. He has covered aviation stories on six continents and won multiple awards, including the 2017 Aerospace Media Awards honor for Best In-Depth Feature on the effort to revive Russia’s commercial aviation industry.
The Japan Air Self-Defense Force already operates F-35As in-country, but the USAF presence is limited to two squadrons of aging Boeing F-15C/Ds and Lockheed F-16C/Js.
Workers at Boeing’s complex in St. Louis, Missouri are now assembling the weapons systems trainer and the operational flight trainer, which are scheduled for delivery to the U.S. Air Force in 2023.
A new head of Air Force Special Operations Command is calling for a "ruthless" divestment of certain functions in order to finance a major restructuring to prepare for conflict with a great power.