Japan confirms crash of RQ-4B Global Hawk in Sea of Japan

The Japan Air Self-Defense Force has confirmed the loss of a Northrop Grumman RQ-4B Global Hawk in the Sea of Japan. According to the service, the uncrewed aircraft went down on the afternoon of 15 September following a communications failure.

Communications were lost at 12:58pm local time, and the aircraft's radar track disappeared three minutes later, roughly 27nm (50km) north of Tottori prefecture. Search aircraft later spotted debris in the sea that was identified as belonging to the RQ-4B, a finding subsequently confirmed by a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force vessel.

Tokyo brought the RQ-4B into service at Misawa air base in December 2022. Before the crash the JASDF operated three of the type. At the time the platform arrived, the service said it was introduced to gather information in areas relatively remote from Japan and to provide persistent airborne monitoring during periods of heightened tension.

The accident is the tenth loss of a Global Hawk variant since 1999. Factors in previous crashes have included mechanical failure, software problems and human error, as well as Iran's 2019 shootdown of a US Navy RQ-4A.