The Air Force is sending five RQ-4 Global Hawks to Japan to avoid typhoons and continue surveillance flights over the Pacific region. The five aircraft and 105 personnel, currently based at Andersen AFB, Guam, will deploy to Yokota AB, Japan, from May to October 2017, according to a Pacific Air Forces release. The deployment will keep “with our commitment to further contribute to the security of Japan and to the stability of the region,” the release states. The deployment comes as North Korea has ramped up its missile testing, repeatedly sending test missiles into the Sea of Japan. The Air Force deployed two Andersen-based Global Hawks to Misawa AB, Japan, in 2014 and three in 2015, but kept the remotely piloted aircraft in Guam last summer because the Misawa runway was under construction. Pacific Air Force officials previously told Air Force Magazine the Global Hawks more than doubled the sortie efficiency during the first deployment to Japan due to better weather conditions.
Planning an Air Show Is Hard. At Andrews, It’s Even Harder
Sept. 17, 2025
Joint Base Andrews opened its flightline this month to thousands of civilians, exposing a normally restricted airbase that regularly hosts the president and foreign dignitaries to a curious public eager to see current and historic military aircraft up close and in action.
