Japan's air force said it began recovery operations Friday for a U.S.-made long-distance surveillance drone that had crashed into the sea last month, as the country puts greater emphasis on drones in its defense planning.
The uncrewed RQ-4B aircraft, known as Global Hawk, went missing off the northern coast of Tottori prefecture in northwestern Japan in mid-September. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force said it has determined that the drone had crashed and later spotted what appeared to be the fuselage on the seabed about 200-300 meters (650-980 feet) deep.
