Japan's Global Hawk Drone Vanishes Over Sea of Japan
The Japan Air Self-Defense Force scrambled search crews after signal contact with the RQ-4 Global Hawk drone cut out abruptly, according to media. The disappearance occurred at approximately 12:58 p.m. local time (0358 GMT), with the unmanned aircraft last tracked roughly 50 kilometers (31 miles) off the coast of Tottori Prefecture in western Japan.
Defense officials confirmed the flight was part of a routine training exercise but offered no further details on the drone's specific mission objectives.
Hours later, the Coast Guard reported recovering floating debris at sea consistent with wreckage from the missing aircraft, raising strong indications the drone had crashed.
The high-altitude surveillance drone is one of three RQ-4 Global Hawk aircraft in Japan's fleet, purchased from U.S. defense contractor Northrop Grumman. Japan first stationed the drones at Misawa Air Base in Aomori Prefecture, in the country's northeast, in 2022.
Authorities have not yet confirmed the cause of the communication failure, and the search for additional wreckage was ongoing.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the
information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any
responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos,
licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information
contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues
related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
