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according to the u.s. naval institute news (usni news) on august 28 local time, the u.s. marine corps will deploy mq-9 drones in okinawa to carry out "intelligence and surveillance operations."

according to reports, the japanese ministry of defense and the ministry of foreign affairs issued a notice on tuesday (27th) regarding the "temporary deployment of the us marine corps mq-9 at kadena airport". the notice showed that 6 us marine corps mq-9 "reaper" drones will be deployed at the kadena base for one year, responsible for performing "intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance" (isr) missions in southwest japan.

the u.s. marine corps' mq-9a reaper drone

the report said that due to the "increasingly severe security environment around japan", "further strengthening us-japan relations" is more important than ever. in the us-japan 2+2 meeting in july this year, the two countries agreed to further increase cooperation in the field of isr. in this japanese notice document, it is mentioned that the current situation is first of all the expansion and strengthening of the scope of activities of china and russia in the "sea and air space around japan", such as joint air patrols by bombers; and north korea's "continued illegal maritime activities", including the so-called ship-to-ship berthing method to transfer goods and raw materials "subject to un sanctions".

although neither the united states nor japan has publicly stated when the "one-year" temporary deployment of the marine corps mq-9 began, official information from the u.s. military showed some clues. according to this set of photos and accompanying information published by the u.s. defense information visualization service (dvids), a u.s. air force c-17 transport aircraft delivered a batch of mq-9 drone components to kadena air base on the 13th of this month. these drones belong to the 3rd marine unmanned aerial vehicle squadron (vmu-3) established in hawaii last year. it is the first "reaper" drone unit of the u.s. marine corps in the "indo-pacific region" and is organized under the 3rd marine expeditionary force in japan.

on august 13, a c-17 transport aircraft belonging to the 733rd air mobility squadron of the u.s. air force unloaded mq-9 drone components at kadena base.

the u.s. air force has also "long-term deployed" eight mq-9s at kadena since november last year. as early as november 2022, this batch of mq-9s of the u.s. air force was transferred to kadena after a year of "temporary deployment" at the japan maritime self-defense force kanoya air base in kagoshima prefecture, kyushu. according to a document from the u.s. department of defense, although these mq-9s of the u.s. marine corps and the air force are integrated reconnaissance and strike drones, they currently have no plans to equip them with weapons while stationed at kadena base. in addition, kadena currently has two other u.s. navy mq-4c triton large jet drones, but these drones are scheduled to end their deployment at kadena in october this year and return to guam.

the mq-9a reaper drone deployed by the u.s. air force at kadena, like the same type of drone deployed by the marine corps this time, uses an electronic pod configuration and is not equipped with airborne weapons for the time being

the mq-4c triton, a large jet strategic drone deployed by the u.s. navy at kadena air base, will end its deployment and return to guam in october this year.

in addition to the united states, japan is also working to strengthen its drone capabilities in the west. the unarmed mq-9b sea guardian drone being tested by the japan maritime self-defense force was dispatched from its original base in hachinohe, aomori prefecture, to kanoya air base several times between june and july this year to conduct "alert surveillance" verification tests in the airspace related to the "nanzai islands and the east china sea." and just this month, the japan coast guard, which previously leased and used three mq-9b sea guardians, signed a contract with general atomics of the united states to purchase two new sea guardians, which are planned to be deployed at kitakyushu airport in fukuoka prefecture, and also have potential surveillance capabilities in the east china sea.

in june this year, the mq-9b uav under trial by the maritime self-defense force was undergoing flight tests at the kanoya base. as a rented uav, the fuselage still had the us aircraft number n477sg.

the japan coast guard has leased mq-9bs and has confirmed that it will purchase two more to be deployed at the kitakyushu base in fukuoka.