Japanese Global Hawk crashes off western Japan

A Japan Air Self-Defense Force RQ-4B Block 30i Global Hawk crashed off western Japan after contact was lost during a mission. Officials said communications ended at about 12:55 p.m. local time on September 15 and the aircraft disappeared from radar roughly three minutes later, prompting a search and safety investigation. The incident removes a high-value long-endurance surveillance asset from service and may temporarily affect availability, but the cause had not been established; conclusions about mechanical failure, operator action, weather, or external interference must await the investigation.