[PerilousD]

The article said 2800 miles of testing? Was that a misprint - a single one-way trip from San Francisco to NY is about that distance? Does the FCC or the Air Force get final say in this maybe a little more testing? I AM aware there are drones so maybe a lot of that technology transfers over BUT then there should be a lot more than 2800 miles of flight time data applied no?

[nradov]

The Air Force gets the final say on their own operations because they aren't legally subject to FAA rules (the FCC only comes into the picture for spectrum use by data links). But they operate under a Memorandum of Understanding and closely consult with each other to minimize risks. Military uncrewed aircraft are typically restricted to specially designated airspace because they can't safely mix with regular civilian traffic (no ability to talk directly with controllers, no "see and avoid" for VHR traffic).

[morpheuskafka]

I thought government agencies can get spectrum permissions from NTIA rather than FCC?

[HWR_14]

I think the NTIA owns some bands, the FCC others. If the USAF wants to use an FCC regulated band, they talk to the FCC. For instance, a base radio/tv station that broadcasts on a standard frequency.

But I could be wrong.

[paxys]

Distance is anyways irrelevant to the conversation. A commercial airplane can fly itself on a fixed path while at cruising altitude basically forever. It's the takeoff, landing and unexpected situations that you have to worry about.

[sargun]

Heh, perhaps we'll end up with inverted-ETOPS, where autonomous airplanes need certifications to spend more than 15, 30, 60 minutes over populated areas (or not water).

[HWR_14]

And clearly with cargo planes, the acceptance of the risk of a crash from an unexpected situation (over an unpopulated area) is a lot higher than if people were on board.

[dragonwriter]

> The article said 2800 miles of testing? Was that a misprint - a single one-way trip from San Francisco to NY is about that distance?

The 2800 miles was multiple flights within California between Jan. 22 and Feb. 4.

This article has more detail:

https://www.flyingmag.com/xwing-awarded-military-airworthine...

[lm28469]

> a single one-way trip from San Francisco to NY is about that distance?

You can't go from SF to NY while staying in California airspace afaik. That being said the distance doesn't matter much, I'd be more interested in take-offs/landings

[primax]

Especially any rapid unscheduled landings

[engineer_22]

Obviously multiple trips. The aircraft in question doesn't have that much range.