Video released Wednesday by the Air Force shows one of the unmanned aircraft taxiing, lifting off and buzzing overhead during an earlier test flight.
The Reapers, deployed by U.S. Pacific Air Forces, will make reconnaissance flights in “close coordination” with the Japan Ministry of Defense, according to an Air Force statement with the video. PACAF describes the Reaper as medium-altitude, long-endurance, remotely piloted aircraft.
The Reaper is primarily a surveillance aircraft but can carry an inventory of weapons, including Hellfire missiles and Paveway laser-guided bombs, according to the Air Force.
The Reapers at Kanoya will be configured for surveillance “and can’t be equipped with weapons,” according to a document from Japan’s Ministry of Defense posted on the Kanoya city website.
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