The Air Self-Defense Force said one of its pricey unmanned Global Hawk surveillance drones crashed off the coast of Tottori Prefecture on Tuesday, in the first such incident of its kind.
The ASDF said debris spotted and photographed floating in waters off Tottori was judged to be the drone, which went missing over international waters approximately 50 kilometers north of the prefecture’s coast.
The aircraft, which has a ?17 billion ($110 million) price tag and was stationed with the ASDF’s two other Global Hawk drones at Misawa Air Base in Aomori Prefecture, disappeared from radar around 1 p.m. as it was being piloted by crew from the base, according to defense officials.
Neither the cause of the crash nor the drone’s mission were immediately clear. However, the ASDF’s top uniformed officer, Gen. Takehiro Morita, told a regular news conference Tuesday that the aircraft was not taking part in training at the time of the incident.
China has in recent years repeatedly sent its own drones into the skies above the waters of the Sea of Japan.
The Global Hawk is a massive long-endurance, high-altitude surveillance drone measuring 40 meters wide and 15 meters long that can stay in the air for upwards of 30 hours. Japan purchased three of the drones together with associated equipment, parts and logistical support from the U.S. in 2015 for an estimated $1.2 billion, though operating costs have meant an even higher price tag.
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