The government plans to have all three branches of Japan's Self-Defense Forces jointly operate the RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned reconnaissance aircraft set to be introduced from fiscal 2021, in a bid to monitor security situations, including military moves by China and North Korea, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
The joint unit in charge of the drone is poised to comprise about 150 personnel. The introduction of the joint operation system will be included in the next Medium Term Defense Program for fiscal 2019-23, to be drawn up at the end of this year.
The joint operation is expected to raise efficiency in operating the drone by taking advantage of the aircraft's capability to conduct surveillance over a wide area for many hours and help ground, maritime and air branches share relevant knowledge.
Three Global Hawk aircraft are scheduled to be deployed at the Air Self-Defense Force's Misawa Air Base in Aomori Prefecture, with a mission of surveilling -- from above the flight altitude of a passenger plane -- movements on land and sea, by remotely controlling such equipment as optical sensors and radars.
Information collected by the aircraft will be analyzed at the Defense Ministry's Defense Intelligence Headquarters.
Tokyo intends to effectively operate both intelligence-gathering satellites and the Global Hawk in an effort to strengthen its capabilities for collecting military-related intelligence, including Chinese forces' activities near the Nansei Islands and North Korea's preparations to launch ballistic missiles. The government also plans to use the collected data to ascertain the situation when natural disasters occur in the country.
The SDF's existing joint units are currently limited to such groups as the Command Control Communication Computers Systems Command -- which is in charge of cyber defense -- and the intelligence security command responsible for the preventing intelligence leaks.
The ministry's decision to establish the new joint unit is based on its appreciation of the Global Hawk's surveillance capabilities. The reconnaissance drone is "useful for all three SDF branches," a senior ministry official said.
However, the cost of introducing the three planes is expected to be 62.9 billion yen, up from the original estimate of 51 billion yen. The total expenditure for maintaining the aircraft for 20 years is also poised to be as much as about 250 billion yen, raising concerns among the government and ruling parties.
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