Japanese reconnaissance drone goes missing off Tottori
An apparent piece of the drone was spotted floating in the sea off the coast of Tottori Prefecture by the Japan Coast Guard, NHK reported.
The Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) reported losing contact with one of its advanced unmanned Global Hawk drones while it was operating off the coast of Tottori Prefecture on Tuesday. A multi-agency search, involving the ASDF, Maritime Self-Defense Force, and Japan Coast Guard, was currently underway to locate the missing drone in international waters, approximately 50 kilometers north of the Tottori coast.
A fragment of the drone was reportedly spotted floating in the sea off the Tottori coast by the coast guard, as reported by NHK. The aircraft, which is stationed alongside the ASDF’s other two Global Hawk drones at Misawa Air Base in Aomori Prefecture, lost radar contact around 1 p.m. The mission of the drone was not immediately disclosed. However, China has been known to dispatch similar drones into the skies above the waters of the Sea of Japan in recent years.
The Global Hawk is a large, long-endurance, high-altitude surveillance drone measuring 40 meters wide and 15 meters long. It has the capability to stay airborne for up to 30 hours. Japan acquired three of these drones, along with related equipment, parts, and logistical support, from the U.S. in 2015, at an estimated cost of $1.2 billion. However, the operating costs have made the overall expense even higher.
Written by urgent.news from Japan Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
