Local Japanese media reported on 13 August that Tokyo is again considering cancelling its purchase of the American RQ-4B Block 30(I) Global Hawk.
The USAF’s 2021 budget proposal showed that the RQ-4 Blocks 20 and 30 will be retired. This means Japan and South Korea would be left as the only RQ-4 Block 30 users.
Japan’s MoD is therefore worried about rising maintenance costs and delays in obtaining spare parts for the RQ via the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route. Indeed, the Japanese government was told that introduction costs for three RQ-4s would be JPY51 billion ($480 million) in 2014, but the US notified a 23% price increase in 2017.
Japan; Government may cancel Global Hawk deal