4 RS beds down RQ-4 Global Hawk mission at Yokota Air Base

A U.S. Air Force RQ-4B Global Hawk Block 40 assigned to the 4th Reconnaissance Squadron taxis on the runway at Yokota Air Base, Japan, May 27, 2026. The mission of the 4 RS is to support U.S. intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance priorities, operational plans and contingency operations throughout the Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jacob Wood)

4 RS beds down RQ-4 Global Hawk mission at Yokota Air Base

A U.S. Air Force RQ-4B Global Hawk Block 40 assigned to the 4th Reconnaissance Squadron is prepared for flying operations at Yokota Air Base, Japan, May 27, 2026. The mission of the 4 RS is to provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support to the U.S. and its allies with the high altitude, long endurance Global Hawk platform. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jacob Wood)

4 RS beds down RQ-4 Global Hawk mission at Yokota Air Base

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. James Sullivan, 4th Reconnaissance Squadron RQ-4B Global Hawk Block 40 crew chief, performs pre-inspection procedures at Yokota Air Base, Japan, May 27, 2026. The 4 RS provides persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities in support of the U.S.-Japan Alliance and a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jacob Wood)

4 RS beds down RQ-4 Global Hawk mission at Yokota Air Base

U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Jared Rosato, 4th Reconnaissance Squadron avionics technician, performs pre-inspection procedures at Yokota Air Base, Japan, May 27, 2026. The 4 RS provides launch and recovery operations for the remotely piloted RQ-4B Global Hawk Block 40, while the platform is piloted by aircrew assigned to the 348th Reconnaissance Squadron at Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jacob Wood)

4 RS beds down RQ-4 Global Hawk mission at Yokota Air Base

U.S. Air Force Capt. Daniel Wood, 4th Reconnaissance Squadron RQ-4B Global Hawk Block 40 pilot, performs pre-inspection procedures at Yokota Air Base, Japan, May 27, 2026. The Global Hawk is a high-altitude, long-endurance remotely piloted aircraft with an integrated sensor suite that provides all-weather, day or night intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jacob Wood)

4 RS beds down RQ-4 Global Hawk mission at Yokota Air Base

U.S. Air Force Airmen assigned to the 4th Reconnaissance Squadron perform pre-inspection procedures on an RQ-4B Global Hawk Block 40 assigned to the 4 RS at Yokota Air Base, Japan, May 27, 2026. The Global Hawk is a high-altitude, long-endurance remotely piloted aircraft with an integrated sensor suite that provides global all-weather, day or night intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jacob Wood)

4 RS beds down RQ-4 Global Hawk mission at Yokota Air Base

A U.S. Air Force RQ-4B Global Hawk Block 40 assigned to the 4th Reconnaissance Squadron takes off from the flightline at Yokota Air Base, Japan, May 27, 2026. The Global Hawk is used to cooperatively address regional challenges such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, terrorism and other issues affecting the Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jacob Wood)

4th RS beds down RQ-4 Global Hawk mission at Yokota Air Base

Published June 15, 2026
By Senior Airman Jacob Wood
374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

YOKOTA AIR BASE, JAPAN --

U.S. Pacific Air Forces permanently relocated RQ-4 Global Hawk Block 40 aircraft and support personnel assigned to the 4th Reconnaissance Squadron, Andersen Air Force Base, Guam to Yokota Air Base, Japan, in late May 2026.

The move to base the RQ-4 at Yokota Air Base supports more favorable weather in the Kanto Region during typhoon season will maximize the unit’s ability to support theater-wide operations. This ensures persistent reconnaissance in a region where challenges to a free and open Indo-Pacific continue to increase.

The Global Hawk’s mission is to support a broad range of U.S. intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance collection capabilities to support joint forces, and allies and partners in worldwide peacetime, contingency, and crisis operations.

"Yokota Air Base is the right location to support current and future RQ-4 operations in the theater, while upholding the quality of life of our Airmen and families," said Lt. Col. Adam Otten, 4th RS commander. "We would like to thank Guam and the Andersen Air Force Base community for hosting the Global Hawk the past sixteen years. We are excited to be here, and we are confident that the unit will thrive alongside Team Yokota."

The Global Hawk serves as a high-altitude, long-endurance, remotely piloted and unarmed aerial reconnaissance system. The aircraft provides persistent, day and night, high-resolution, all-weather imagery of large geographic areas with an array of integrated sensors and cameras.

The Global Hawk has supported humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations like Operation Tomodachi, when the Department of Defense mobilized 24,000 service members to assist Japan with disaster relief after a 9.0-magnitude earthquake hit the northeastern Honshu coast March 11, 2011, resulting in a tsunami that flooded the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant.