Japanese Reconnaissance Drone Goes Missing off Tottori Pref.

Tokyo, Sept. 15 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Air Self-Defense Force said that it lost contact with a Global Hawk surveillance drone over waters some 50 kilometers off the coast of Tottori Prefecture, western Japan, around 1 p.m. on Tuesday.

According to the ASDF website, the U.S.-made unmanned aircraft has a wingspan of about 40 meters and a length of around 15 meters. It can fly at speeds of up to 570 km per hour for up to around 36 hours at a time while being remotely controlled from the ground.

Three Global Hawk drones are deployed at the ASDF's Misawa base in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan.

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