On September 15, a “Global Hawk (RQ-4B)” unmanned reconnaissance aircraft of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force crashed after losing contact in the waters off Tottori Prefecture in western Honshu, Japan. Japan only deploys three Global Hawks, and the cause of the accident is still under investigation.
According to information released by the Air Self-Defense Force, the Global Hawk affiliated with the Misawa Base in Aomori Prefecture took off from the base around 10:20 a.m. on September 15. By around 12:55 p.m., communication equipment on board malfunctioned, and at around 12:58 p.m., the aircraft disappeared from radar about 50 kilometers off the coast of Tottori Prefecture.
The Japan Coast Guard and the Air Self-Defense Force subsequently launched search operations in the vicinity. Around 2:19 p.m., a JCG helicopter spotted floating objects, which were later confirmed by an Air Self-Defense Force F-15J fighter jet. At around 7:50 p.m., the Air Self-Defense Force confirmed through photographs that the floating objects were indeed the missing Global Hawk, determining that the aircraft had crashed.
On the 16th, the Maritime Self-Defense Force will continue to search in the surrounding waters and recover the wreckage. The Air Self-Defense Force stated that the aircraft was on a mission flight at the time, not a training exercise.
This is reportedly the first crash involving drones for the Air Self-Defense Force. Prior to this incident, Japan had a total of three Global Hawks, all deployed at the Misawa Base in Aomori Prefecture. After the arrival of the third one in June 2023, the fleet was fully constituted with three aircraft.
On the 16th, the city of Misawa sent a letter to the base commander and the director of the Defense Ministry’s Northeastern Defense Bureau, requesting a halt to the use and flights of the Global Hawks until the cause of the accident is determined.
Information from the Air Self-Defense Force indicated that the Global Hawk has a length of about 15 meters, a wingspan of about 40 meters, a height of about 5 meters, a flight endurance of about 36 hours, a top speed of about 570 kilometers per hour, a maximum flying altitude of about 18,000 meters, and is used for long-term intelligence gathering and surveillance.
The Global Hawk is produced by the United States, with a cost of approximately 17 billion Japanese yen (about 110 million US dollars).
Regarding the cause of the accident, the Defense Ministry is still investigating. Asahi TV cited former Air Self-Defense Force members and military commentator Akito Shibukawa who analyzed that the “most plausible speculation at this stage is that there was a malfunction in the engine or other components,” leading to the aircraft crash.
Shibukawa stated that Japan needs at least three Global Hawks, and besides mission execution, the aircraft also requires regular maintenance and training. Therefore, reducing the fleet to two could make it difficult to maintain the previous level of continuous surveillance, potentially “increasing the chances of vulnerabilities.”
The Defense Ministry indicated that necessary measures have been taken to ensure the normal operation of missions.