03-4791. Defense Science Board

AGENCY:

Department of Defense.

ACTION:

Notice of Advisory Committee meeting.

SUMMARY:

The Defense Science Board Task Force on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and Uninhabited Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAV) will meet in closed session on February 27-28, 2003, and March 27-28, 2003, at Strategic Analysis Inc., 3601 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA. The Task Force will review UAV/UCAV systems with special emphasis on affordability and increasing costs, interoperability disconnects, communications architectures to include bandwidth and redundancy, accident rates, operational control in both FAA airspace and military restricted airspace, survivability, military utility analysis, and management approaches.

The mission of the Defense Science Board is to advise the Secretary of Defense and the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology & Logistics on scientific and technical matters as they affect the perceived needs of the Department of Defense. At these meetings, the Defense Science Board Task Force will identify principal impediments to full and rapid exploitation of the joint warfighting potential of UAV and UCAV systems and, further, recommend how these constraints might be mitigated or removed.

In accordance with section 19(d) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law No. 92-463, as amended (5 U.S.C. App. II), it has been determined that these Defense Science Board Task Force meetings concern matters listed in 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(1) and that, accordingly, these meetings will be closed to the public.

Due to critical mission requirements and scheduling conflicts, there is insufficient time to provide timely notice required by section 19(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act and Subsection 101-6.1015(b) of the GSA Final Rule on Federal Advisory Committee Management, 41 CFR part 101-6, which further requires publication at least 15 calendar days prior to a Task Force meeting.

Dated: February 14, 2003.

Patricia L. Toppings,

Alternate OSD Federal Register, Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.