The Japanese government has agreed to host U.S. Air Force Global Hawk drones on a periodical basis to carry out intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions in the Asia-Pacific region as part of an overall update to the security alliance between the two countries, according to a joint communiqué.
The agreement was announced yesterday in Tokyo while U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel met with their Japanese counterparts. The agreement also finalized previously announced plans to station second X-band radar in Japan as part of the ballistic missile defense cooperation between Washington and Tokyo.
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| Japan has agreed to host Global Hawks. Photo by U.S. Air Force |
The revisions were outlined by a senior U.S. official to reporters in Tokyo and a transcript was later released by Pentagon. Details of the Global Hawk plans were still being worked out, but will begin early next year and involve two or three of the aircraft arriving from Guam for periodic operations, the official said.
“It will not be year round,” the official said. “It’ll be a seasonal deployment, but they’ll be flying out of a U.S. base in Japan for a period of the year.” There were still efforts underway to integrate the Northrop Grumman [NOC]-built Global Hawks into Japanese airspace, the official said.
The official, who spoke to reporters under the condition of anonymity, said the announcement marks the first major update to U.S.-Japanese security framework since 1997, and is meant to reflect the changing security environment, including issues associated with space, missile defense and cyber security.
“The idea is to revise these in a way that reflects new areas, new challenges, such as in the space and cyber domains, that reflect Japan’s more active international role both regionally and globally, and also look for ways to enhance our ability to consult, cooperate during a crisis,” the official said.
Another key aspect announced yesterday is the location for the deployment of a second Raytheon [RTN]-built AN/TPY-2 X-band radar. The radar will be placed in at the Air Self-Defense Force base in Kyogamisaki on Japan’s west coast, augmenting the capability beyond the one system in northern Japan meant to detect and track a North Korean threat.
“This radar will provide additional coverage for the U.S. homeland as well as additional coverage against North Korean ballistic missile threats for the Japanese,” the official said.
The United States and Japan have been cooperating in the development of the Block IIA version of the Standard Missile-3, or SM-3–also build by Raytheon.
The communiqué also finalizes the stationing of Lockheed Martin [LMT]-built F-35Bs in 2017, and the first international deployment of the Navy’s new P-8 maritime patrol aircraft manufactured by Boeing [BA]. That is scheduled for December.