U.S. Drones to Monitor North Korean Skies

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Next year the U.S. military will begin flying Global Hawk (UAS) unmanned air surveillance systems from Japan on missions to monitor North Korea, as announced recently by U.S. and Japanese officials.

According to Defense Tech and the Washington Post, the Air Force plans to base two or three of the high-altitude Northrop Grumman made UAS from an as of yet unspecified base in Japan.

The news came as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel visited the country while President Barack Obama canceled a trip to Asia this week because of the federal government shutdown over a budget impasse.

U.S. drones, including the Global Hawk, flew over Japan in 2011 to collect data and imagery on the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which had a partial meltdown after a tsunami struck the region. The jet-powered military aircraft has never been stationed in the country before, according to the report.

iHLS – Israel Homeland Securiy

The Air Force’s RQ-4 Global Hawk is the biggest unmanned aerial vehicle in the U.S. arsenal.

The high-altitude, long-endurance aircraft is capable of flying as high as 60,000 feet for more than a day at a time, according to a service fact sheet. It collects and transmits imagery and video using advanced synthetic aperture radar, electro-optical and infrared sensors and satellite communications systems.

The Air Force already stations Global Hawks in Guam and the Persian Gulf. Basing the aircraft in Japan will improve U.S. surveillance of North Korea, which earlier this year threatened to attack American allies in the region; as well as monitoring China, which has escalated territorial disputes with Japan.

In another first, the U.S. military also plans to station Boeing made P-8 surveillance planes in Japan, according to the article.