A Northrop-built RQ-4 Global Hawk drone is set to fly over Japan’s damaged Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant to collect data and imagery, USAF deputy chief Lieutenant General Herbert Carlisle has said.

“The Global Hawk has great capability across the spectrum of military operations. Its tremendous contribution in this humanitarian assistance disaster relief operation is a testament to its value to the US and our allies,” he added.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Go deeper with GlobalData

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Discover B2B Marketing That Performs

Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.

Find out more

The high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft will help assess damage to towns, industrial infrastructure and other facilities affected during the earthquake and subsequent flooding.

The aircraft is equipped with sensors and cameras that can take infrared, electro-optical images and detailed synthetic aperture radar-based pictures.

A powerful earthquake struck north-eastern Japan on 11 March, triggering a massive tsunami in Miyagi Prefecture.

GlobalData Strategic Intelligence

US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?

Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.

By GlobalData

Airforce Technology Excellence Awards - Nominations Closed

Nominations are now closed for the Airforce Technology Excellence Awards. A big thanks to all the organisations that entered – your response has been outstanding, showcasing exceptional innovation, leadership, and impact.


Excellence in Action
Discover how Virtualitics is transforming mission readiness with explainable AI, predictive maintenance, and data-driven decision intelligence across the U.S. Department of Defense through its AI-powered Integrated Readiness Optimization suite, for which it has won the Innovation and Business Expansion awards.

Discover the Impact