Apr 4 2003
From The Space Library
Boeing announced that its Integrated Defense Systems unit had signed a contract with the Japan Defense Agency and the trading company ITOCHU Corporation to build the first aircraft of the Japan Air Self Defense Force 767 Tanker Transport Program, comprising four aircraft and support. For its 767 Tanker Transport, Japan had selected the military derivative of the 767-200ER commercial aircraft, reconfigured with an advanced Boeing air-refueling boom and an advanced remote aerial refueling operator system. With its selection of the convertible freighter configuration, Japan would have the flexibility to carry either cargo or passengers. The 767 Tanker Transport Program would enable Japan to meet its commitment to international cooperative efforts, such as delivering humanitarian aid and meeting the air-refueling needs of Japan and other countries around the world. 408" "408 The Boeing Company, “Boeing, Japan Sign 767 Tanker Transport Contract,” news release, 4 April 2003, http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2003/q2/nr_030404m.html (accessed 19 September 2008).
NASA and industry researchers completed a series, begun on 1 April, of collision-avoidance tests between airplanes and remotely controlled UAVs. Although UAVs had achieved high-profile military roles overseas, the United States had not yet approved the use of robotic drones within U.S. airspace. The collision-avoidance tests were part of the efforts of the FAA, NASA, and the DOD to determine what safety and reliability standards UAVs would need to meet. For example, the FAA sought to ensure that robotic drones could respond to instructions from air traffic controllers as quickly as human pilots of conventional aircraft could respond. Researchers had created 20 collision scenarios in restricted airspace over four days, using an F/A-18 jet and a propeller-driven Beechcraft. During the tests, ground-based pilots operating the experimental Proteus drone had only been able to see evidence of the other two planes in the form of a stream of radar and other data and had never actually observed the physical aircraft. Yet, in each scenario, the pilots had been able to maneuver the drone to avoid colliding with the other aircraft. (Andrew Bridges for Associated Press, “NASA Envisions Robot Planes in U.S. Skies,” 5 April 2003.
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