By Franz-Stefan Gady
The U.S. State Department approved a $1.2 billion arms deal with Japan.
Last week, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced that the U.S. Department of State approved the possible sale of three RQ-4 Block 30 (I) Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and associated equipment to Japan.
U.S. Congress has to approve the sale within the next 15 days in order for the United States and Japan to begin negotiating the actual $1.2 billion arms deal. In detail, according to the DSCA, the Japanese government has requested the sale of:
- Three (3) RQ-4 Block 30 (I) Global Hawk Remotely Piloted Aircraft with Enhanced Integrated Sensor Suite (EISS)
- Eight (8) Kearfott Inertial Navigation System/Global Positioning System (INS/GPS) units (2 per aircraft with 2 spares)
- Eight (8) LN-251 INS/GPS units (2 per aircraft with 2 spares)
The primary U.S. defense contractor on the deal would be Northrop Grumman Corporation in Rancho Bernardo, California.
“The proposed sale of the RQ-4 will significantly enhance Japan’s intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities and help ensure that Japan is able to continue to monitor and deter regional threats. The Japan Air Self Defense Force (JASDF) will have no difficulty absorbing these systems into its armed forces,” DSCA emphasized.
Read the full story at The Diplomat