U.S. Army operating ISR aircraft out of Japan
Aviation Week has reported that a Challenger 650 with FAA registration N488CR is operating under a U.S. Army program called Artemis.
Data gathered from flight tracking websites show that the jet arrived in Misawa, Japan on Jul. 28. It had taken off from Anchorage. The Challenger then left Misawa for Kadena the next day, it has been there since.
It has been photographed several times since then by local spotters. A canoe with antennas can be seen on the belly of the aircraft right behind the nosewheel.
Before crossing the Pacific Ocean to Japan, it was active at Manassas Regional Harry P. Davis field, Virginia.
It first appeared online in August 2019 and clocked nearly 46 hours over 17 flights.
The Program Executive Office for Army Aviation said the Airborne Reconnaissance and Targeting Multi-Mission Intelligence System (Artemis) provides high-altitude sensing capabilities against near peer adversaries and bridges gaps in the Multi Domain Operations mission. The program started in May 2019.
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