U.S. military to deploy unmanned spy plane in northern Japan

We do not want it flying in our airspace. It is a danger to civilian aviation and predict it will either collide with a civilian airliner or crash.

Deploy it in South Korea! It is protecting them not Japan. 2 missiles gee I am so afraid, ah NOT!

yeap, something to be concerned about..

That's one ugly looking UAV.

Yuri , the plane flys at twice the altitude as a regular passenger place according to the article put online yesterday . It poses little risk

Are these drones different and better than shot down/captured by Taliban/Iran?

Wonder if this little baby will be making a few passes of the Fukushima Nuclear plant just to take a few readings on its way home? Is this plane similar to the predator drones we keep hearing about? Could it launch anything while it is in the air, or is it only for reconnaissance?

I dont see why it must be launched from japan, why not a US aircraft carrier or from south korea?

it's logistic reasons i think, since Japan has facilities for producing avionic parts for U.S Air Force. One of the factory of the contractor is in Akishima and I am living there while hearing tons of U.S Air Force cargo planes fly over everyday recently.

if it was not going to be deployed in Japanese territory, they would not have given us a warning.. the 7th fleet must be busy in the straits and the South China sea..

If any one thinks these surveillance craft aren't already flying all over Japan and the rest of the world you are sadly mistaken. This has been announced publicly so that NK will see that Japan/US is monitoring its activities from multiple locations.

Yuri, Im no fan of all of America's actions, but Im sure I would rather have them here than not should NK actually turn its provocations into action. Also don't be mistaken about NK abilities, yes they may have questionable abilities as far as nuclear devices but they have short range highly explosive missiles unquestionably and when push comes to shove a very large army. While more than likely its just their normal blackmailing for aid make no mistake Japan without the US is no match.

Let's just hope it doesn't drop from the sky like them ospreys - we dont need more debris in Tohoku!

There wasn't this much concern when the Global Hawk was flying over Fukushima Daichi in March and April 2011.

NZ2011 flying it from Japanese soil makes the Americans hostile move Japans. You know they will fly it over North Korean airspace. They may attack North Korea with it. Let it fly from South Korea.

Crazedinjapan it has to take off and land. Also the airport has commercial air traffic. The use of it from that base subjects it to North Korean attack. I care less about the safety of South Korea, as I say it is not our war! Actually letting the Americans make hostile moves against other countries is against article #9. As to it being wrong the Americans wrote our Constitution so they can zip the complaints.

Also am sure flying drones over Japan is restricted. The Americans have to abide by OUR air safety standards. Flying over Fukushima was done in an emergency and was to the benefit of the Japanese people.

Deploy it in South Korea! It is protecting them not Japan. 2 missiles gee I am so afraid, ah NOT!

Of course you wont be afraid or worry, you don't live here, and you don't have to live with the potential danger! Thanks to the US-Japan Security alliance that aircraft like this and the 2 Cobra Ball jets at Kadena will give Japan and the region the necessary and prudent surveillance coverage that is needed with NK.

You sarcasm is unwanted and unnecessary.

Crazedinjapan it has to take off and land. Also the airport has commercial air traffic.

Never hear you complain about JIETAI planes flying jointly out of other commercial airports in Japan? This aircraft is safe. Just because you don't trust, due to ignorance of what it's capabilities are, that you openly fearmonger the unknown.

Also am sure flying drones over Japan is restricted. The Americans have to abide by OUR air safety standards. Flying over Fukushima was done in an emergency and was to the benefit of the Japanese people.

Sure? Links or information to support your "claims" is prudent before blowing smoke.

ronnie regan " we begin bombing in five minutes" they want nukes that bad why not send them a small one of ours

Here we Come!!! Eyes in the Skye...

The Americans are acting like they own Japan again. This is proof of their disrespect towards Japan. All that Abe can do is kiss up to them. America wants to put Japan at risk in the game of protecting South Korea. The South Koreans hate Japan. Less than a year ago 44.1 percent of South Koreans placed Japan as their least liked country. Why should we risk ourselves for them? An act of war to discover 2 untested missiles.

yeah, they are just trying to ratchet things up on the Un. Not sure if it's a good idea. I think NK is getting a little unstable

I'm pretty sure most people here incorrectly think all drones are armed and only used to kill people.

@Superlib

I bet a lot of Afghan kids think exactly that. With good reason.

Another point that proves there is no need for a massive military presence in Okinawa and Japan's main islands. There is no need for remote pilots in Hokkaido or anywhere else. They can be flown remotely from sunny San Diego or one of the "secret" uninhabited airports recently built in Alaska.

Kuroyukihimeeee

The Global Hawk is too big to be launched from a aircraft carrier. It's larger then a 737.

MarkX

It already had 2 years ago. The then Japanese government had been informed about it's finding.

By the way JASDF is considering purchasing these crafts. I believe this is one of those sales pitches.

The South Koreans hate Japan. Less than a year ago 44.1 percent of South Koreans placed Japan as their least liked country. Why should we risk ourselves for them? An act of war to discover 2 untested missiles.

Geez if SK hates Japan so much why do the highest number of foreign tourists in Japan come from SK? Go figure?

Why too do Japanese artists and SK artists do so well in each others country's? Go figure?

Why too is SK one of Japan's largest trading partners? Go figure?

Statistics like these can not and should not be trusted by any intelligent person. Statistics or opinion polls are often times biased by the person or people looking for a response to justify their ow position. Same in Japan as well and all over the world.

You want to hate that's all, but don't expect others to jump on your bandwagon either.

ronnie regan " we begin bombing in five minutes" they want nukes that bad why not send them a small one of ours

I think the aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki taught us enough to be wiser than that. Hence the reason the US has never used a nuclear device against another target since then. Honestly, we don't need to launch a nuclear weapon to destroy a target anymore. There are other ways without resulting in long term wide ranging environmental and health effects.

You know, if I had a spy plane, I wouldn't announce that I was going to, y'know, SPY with it. Spying is hush-hush, quiet, secret... we don't announce spying in newspapers. So this is just something else to annoy the North Koreans. The US is hoping they will get high blood pressure or something.

Don't you think that NK has it's own intelligence resources in Japan as well and know about this being here before it was written about in this article? Oh and in case you didnt know it was in the Japanese press days before, the information you read here is already "old" by news standards and is for the most part just translated information that has already be put out in local media.

So you think the US government has things printed up in Japanese by the Japanese press first before the info is revealed in English?

Cripes, this has been known by the Japanese defense ministry official's for months, the press released the information here prior to it being posted on JT.

The overwhelming majority of articles here come from Japanese media outlets.

(Your sarcasm is noted....)

The deployment of the Global Hawk to Aomori may be a diversion. According to investigative journalist Steve Douglass, the real action is happening farther south on the island of Guam. Douglass reports that seven B-1 bombers have been deployed to Guam along with one or more Boeing E-6 Mercury aircraft. Should command and control fail on the ground, the E-6 would take over from the air.

House Atreides;

So the looking glass is in Guam.. if that is the case, the Global Hawk is just a joint publicity stunt. May god forgive us, if the cornered beast pounces, and we react in kind.

2 of the 3 Cobra Ball aerial reconnaissance planes that the US AF have are currently flying missions out of Kadena. The US is putting a high priority on NK and the assets being moved into theater to monitor the situation is heartening.

These aircraft would detect a launch within seconds http://www.fas.org/irp/program/collect/cobra_ball.htm

COBRA BALL is an Air Force airborne intelligence platform (RC-135) which carries infrared telescopes for tracking ballistic-missile tests at long range. COBRA BALL operates out of Offutt AFB NE and deploys to various locations around the world.

The Cobra Ball suite of Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) and Measurements and Signatures Intelligence (MASINT) sensor systems designed to exploit the enemy electromagnetic spectrum. The MASINT sensors are two linked electro-optical sensors -- the Real Time Optics System (RTOS) and the Large Aperture Tracker System (LATS). RTOS consists of an array of staring sensors encompassing a wide field of regard for target acquisition. LATS serves as an adjunct tracker. Due to its large aperture, it has significantly greater sensitivity and resolving power than the RTOS, but is otherwise similar. Connectivity includes JTIDS and TIBS data links.

Variants have been proposed for the operational detection of theater ballistic missile launches. In war, Cobra Ball could provide rapid recognition of TBM launches following cloud-break and horizon clearance. Within seconds of launch detection, estimates of launch point, intercept point, and impact point are available for transmission over a data link to theater C4I elements like AWACS, JSTARS, and the AOC. Estimates of increasing accuracy are transmitted during the course of the missile's flight until burnout has occurred.

@yuri, I'm am almost positive the American Air Force will not land and take off at any commercial airports so I don't know why you would say that. Also these aircraft don't have a serious history of dropping out of the sky and are very dependable. As for permission I believe Abe is more than happy to get a Birds eye view of what's going on in the North Korean area seeing as it is threatening Japan and not only the USA. It's one thing to be nationalistic but doing so at the expense of your own people is just plain ignorance which you seem to greatly suffer from when it comes to prudent simple facts.

@yuri, I'm am almost positive the American Air Force will not land and take off at any commercial airports

Misawa is a shared airport and airbase so that positive wasn't but Yuri is spinning way out of orbit with his misguided rants against American forces.

So when the USA was all over Japan everyone here complained about NK!! So now the USA is ready to screw NK and you all still complain about the USA???

BurakuminDes at Apr. 07, 2013 - 09:54AM JST Let's just hope it doesn't drop from the sky like them ospreys - we dont need more debris in Tohoku!

It won't drop from the sky. And to everyone else this drone is not armed with weapons. It flys at 60,000ft which is above airliners. It can collect 40,000 s/km of data and imaging in one day. It can so target things for bombing etc. it's a stable aircraft. Yes I'm not sure why it's not based in South Korea...it's kind of like using Japan as a table to put all its tools on.

VerisimilitudeApr. 07, 2013 - 04:50PM JST

So the looking glass is in Guam.. if that is the case, the Global Hawk is just a joint publicity stunt. May god forgive us, if the cornered beast pounces, and we react in kind.

No, that report was unconfirmed. Anyway, the E-6s have 4 other stations they regularly have to deploy to, so Guam may not be the destination. Also from the same source an update on the B-1s they did not land at Guam.

As for the Global Hawk being a publicity stunt - it's a reconnaissance asset. Bombers and strike aircraft need up-to-date data on their targets, especially if they are mobile targets.

Ref: http://deepbluehorizon.blogspot.it/2013/04/b-1bs-practicing-to-pound-north-korea.html

Well the US has already deployed two stealth fighters to SK,if this drone has the range and can be deployed from Japan is it really an issue YuriOtani?

I also don't understand where your anti-American rhetoric stems from, if they have the resources and are already in country then I am sure the Japanese people would appreciate the fact.

Yuri, it's gonna be "your war" whether you want it or not. Just hit your knees and thank God that you are allied with the US, and that the US military will take up the slack that the Japanese SDF cannot or will not do.

The drones are in Misawa because that is the best position to detect any missile tests from the North Korean coast, especially if they fly over the ocean. The drones can safely operate outside of NK airspace if they want, and still reap valuable data.

Not to long ago yuri was all in favor of the alliance with the U.S. but thats because china was eyeing those rocks in the middle of the sea now that noone is talking about the island dispute everyone are all like "screw america!!" Smh one minute some countries want U.S. protection next minute they want them to leave. U.S. does some stupid bad things but russia,uk,china,etc. Have done the same but the masses dont pay attention to that. but even when we do something good the U.S. is still seen as "evil" believe me as a U.S. taxpayer i wish our government would remove the bases in other countries. I have nothing against U.S. allies but i wish we could leave yall to fend for yourselves since nobody likes U.S. military unless they are being bullied by another powerful country

YuriOtani

The Americans are acting like they own Japan again. This is proof of their disrespect towards Japan. All that Abe can do is kiss up to them. America wants to put Japan at risk in the game of protecting South Korea. The South Koreans hate Japan. Less than a year ago 44.1 percent of South Koreans placed Japan as their least liked country. Why should we risk ourselves for them? An act of war to discover 2 untested missiles.

I like your comments YuriOtani. When you said you knew the "tricks of the Americans", I was wondering if this was really true. And actually you were right.

House AtreidesApr. 07, 2013 - 04:36PM JST The deployment of the Global Hawk to Aomori may be a diversion. According to investigative journalist Steve >Douglass, the real action is happening farther south on the island of Guam. Douglass reports that seven B-1 bombers >have been deployed to Guam along with one or more Boeing E-6 Mercury aircraft. Should command and control fail >on the ground, the E-6 would take over from the air.

Why does the movement of the Bones and E6 to Guam necessarily make the Global Hawk out of Misawa a diversion?

issa1Apr. 08, 2013 - 12:01AM JST YuriOtani The Americans are acting like they own Japan again. This is proof of their disrespect towards Japan. All that Abe can >do is kiss up to them. America wants to put Japan at risk in the game of protecting South Korea. The South Koreans >hate Japan. Less than a year ago 44.1 percent of South Koreans placed Japan as their least liked country. Why >should we risk ourselves for them? An act of war to discover 2 untested missiles.

I can't think of a better way to change that South Korea view of Japan than by helping them as an ally in their time of need. Especially since they are being threatened by the same country that has threatened Japan and kidnapped it's citizens. Both you and Yuri are unrealistic America bashers who, fortunately for the rest of the world, do not represent the majority thinking of either the Japanese people of it's government. You two might as well as move to Pyongyang.

Kuroyukihimeeee I dont see why it must be launched from japan, why not a US aircraft carrier or from south korea?

I get a laugh out of these posters here as I sit here looking at the GH's being made. I design and flight test them daily do you have any idea of what it takes to launch a global hawk from a US carrier? Let me give you and example try parking your car in your apartment and you will quickly get the idea. Read the specs on the UV and look at the wing span if you want get more details.

Yuri Otani

The Americans are acting like they own Japan again. This is proof of their disrespect towards Japan. All that Abe can do is kiss up to them. America wants to put Japan at risk in the game of protecting South Korea. The South Koreans hate Japan. Less than a year ago 44.1 percent of South Koreans placed Japan as their least liked country. Why should we risk ourselves for them? An act of war to discover 2 untested missiles.

Americans never said or wanted to own Japan, if the US disrespected Japan then they would gladly let NK have their way. If you take the "AMERICANS" out of the picture Japan would have been gone a long time ago Yuri. You are asking "why should we risk ourselves to them" Americans say why should we protect blood thats not our own!

noriyosan73

Another point that proves there is no need for a massive military presence in Okinawa and Japan's main islands. There is no need for remote pilots in Hokkaido or anywhere else. They can be flown remotely from sunny San Diego or one of the "secret" uninhabited airports recently built in Alaska.

I laughed at this comment some people post and have no clue of what they are talking about. If you are not in the know then I can understand the remarks but these are hillarious. GH does not carry weapons, I'm sitting next to one on the manufacturing floor as I write this and I do what I am talking about!!

Americans say why should we protect blood thats not our own!

Because it's part of the essence of US politics to extend its clumsy tentacles across the world in an attempt to influence the politics of every nation on earth, from Bolivia to Germany to Laos. As long as there's money to be made.

kaimycahl Apr. 09, 2013 - 01:08AM JSTAnother point that proves there is no need for a massive military presence in Okinawa and Japan's main islands.

I would like to see U.S. tax dollar not spend at all on ungrateful Japan. This would save substantial amount to U.S. taxpayers. Let Japan defend themselves against assertive China and NK. Reality is Japan lacks any Marine forces of its own, has ground forces that are lot less capable than U.S. and has poor combined arms operation capabilities. Japan depends on the U.S. for its security but continue to criticize at hosting the men and women responsible for providing that security. The J-goverment should publicly define its security vision for Japan as well as the roles, missions, and capabilities it is prepared to assume. Rather than apologizing for people of Okinawa the burdens such a relationship entails, the J-goverment should emphasize on the need for alliance with the U.S.

kaimycahlApr. 09, 2013 - 01:05AM JST The Americans are acting like they own Japan again. This is proof of their disrespect towards Japan. All that Abe can do is kiss up to them. America wants to put Japan at risk in the game of protecting South Korea.

If you feel that way, why don't your J-goverment declare independence like what Philippines did over two decades ago and defend your own country. Then Japan's military cost will increase by 10 percent a year for many decades and Japan can afford it. Let China circle their Navy ships like the sharks around Okinawa and Japan. I would like not to see single dollar of U.S. tax money go to Japan.