June 5 (UPI) — Pacific Air Forces began rotating RQ-4 Global Hawks from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam to Yokota Air Base in Japan last week, the Air Force announced Thursday.
According to the Air Force, the rotation of Global Hawks to Yokota should provide a stable location from which the platform can operate when inclement weather — such as typhoons — have historically interfered.
“Having alternate locations to execute our mission during seasons of inclement weather ensures our ability to continue executing U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and the alliance reconnaissance requirements in support of the defense of Japan and to maintain international peace and security in the region,” Lt. Col. Ben Craycraft, 319th Operations Group Detachment 1 commander, said.
The RQ-4 Global Hawk is a high-altitude surveillance drone made by Northrop Grumman and designed to provide persistent, high-resolution, all-weather imagery of large geographic areas with a variety of integrated sensors.
