Japan Finds Part of Missing Global Hawk Drone Wreckage

Japan's Air Self-Defense Force said part of the wreckage from a missing Global Hawk reconnaissance drone had washed ashore near Tottori Prefecture and was recovered. According to Sina Finance, the debris was about 1.5 meters long and 1.4 meters wide, but the force did not say which component it was. Search operations are still continuing. According to Sina Finance, the drone took off from Misawa Air Base at around 10:20 a.m. local time on the 15th and lost contact at around 1 p.m. over waters near Tottori Prefecture. Before communications were cut off, the aircraft had experienced signal problems. It was not on a training flight, and the Air Self-Defense Force did not disclose its specific purpose. Later that day, the force said it believed the drone had crashed. The Air Self-Defense Force has three Global Hawk drones, all based at Misawa Air Base.