US deploys advanced drones to Japan base

The United States has reportedly deployed to Japan two of its most advanced surveillance drones, capable of monitoring nuclear activities in North Korea and Chinese naval operations.

The two unarmed, long-distance Global Hawk drones arrived in the past week and will remain in the region until October, according to The Associated Press.

{mosads}Lt. Gen. Sam Angelella, commander of U.S. Forces Japan, refused to tell the AP what the drones’ missions will entail, but said their “capabilities are well-known.”

Global Hawk drones are able to fly at 60,000 feet and can “loiter” around specific points of interest for 24 hours or more.

The U.S. has most recently used the drone in the search for the missing Nigerian girls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram. The drone was also used in humanitarian missions following Japan’s tsunami in 2011 and after the typhoon that hit the Philippines last year.

Most of the drones’ work for the military, however, remains secret.