The Japanese Air Self Defense Force has sent five personnel—four airmen and one contractor—to Robins AFB, Ga., to train with Air Force technicians expert in aircraft battle damage repair. The JASDF liaison at Robins, Lt. Col. Masafumi Ito, said that Japan doesn’t have an ABDR training program and the latest students will replace airmen trained in the US program two years ago. The new Japanese students are focusing on F-15 and C-130 damage repair techniques.
The Air Force is leaning toward a less-sophisticated autonomous aircraft in the second increment of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, the services chief futurist said. He also suggested that the next increment of CCA may be air-launched, a la the "Rapid Dragon" experiments conducted by the service in recent years.