Japan plans to operate the Global Hawk remotely piloted aircraft starting in Japan’s Fiscal 2015 to bolster its ability to monitor activities around its territory, reported Yomiuri Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper. The US ally intends to spend some $2 million (200 million yen) in its Fiscal 2014 on Global Hawk research to support the high-flying surveillance aircraft’s introduction into Japanese service the following year, according to the newspaper’s Aug. 23 report. China Central Television reported that the Japanese are considering purchasing three Global Hawks over the next four years, citing Japan’s Fiscal 2014 military budget report. The Japanese have not yet determined a Global Hawk beddown location, but are interested in Misawa Air Base in northern Japan, according to Yomiuri Shimbun. The US Air Force operates F-16s at Misawa.
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.