Photo/Illutration The MQ-4 Triton drone (Provided by the Defense Ministry)

The U.S. military will deploy a number of MQ-4 Triton drones indefinitely to the U.S. Kadena Air Base, a deployment that will rankle Okinawan prefectural officials.

The Defense Ministry’s Okinawa Defense Bureau informed the Okinawa prefectural government on April 8 of the U.S. plan. 

The deployment follows one last year of the large surveillance drones between May and October and is expected to begin in a few weeks.

Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki immediately released a statement saying the move went against his government’s desire to reduce the burden of U.S. military bases concentrated in the prefecture. 

Okinawa Defense Bureau officials said the U.S. military had asked for the deployment to Kadena of the drones to expand surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence activities near Japan.

Bureau officials said the Tritons could possibly be utilized for short periods at U.S. military bases in Yokota, western Tokyo, and Misawa, Aomori Prefecture.

At his April 8 news conference, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said, “While the deployment could be expected to heighten intelligence and deterrence for the Japan-U.S. alliance, from the standpoint of reducing the base burden there will be a need to limit the effects on nearby areas.”

Since 2021, Triton drones have been temporarily deployed at Kadena, Misawa and Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture, but no time period has been set for the latest deployment.

Defense Ministry officials said noise pollution from the Tritons in surrounding areas would be less than from fighter jets.

But Tamaki is expected to ask for a review of the deployment plan.

The burden from Kadena Air Base on the surrounding communities has increased with repeated parachuting exercises that the Japanese and U.S. governments had previously agreed would only be held in exceptional cases.

(This article was written by Satsuki Tanahashi and Kazufumi Kaneko.)

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