According to a report on Monday, the United States Marine Corps has deployed an unknown number of spy drones on a strategically important Japanese island near China and in disputed airspace.

The Marine Corps has sent MQ-9A “Reaper” drones to Kadena Air Base on the Japanese island of Okinawa to support training. This will increase the capabilities to support the defense of Japan, the spokesman for the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing told the US military newspaper Stars and Stripes.

The Reaper is a medium-altitude, high-endurance unmanned expeditionary aircraft assigned to the Extended Range Marine Air-Ground Task Force. It has a 66-foot wingspan and 36-foot length with a 27-hour flight endurance and can operate either remotely or fully autonomously.

The drone supports the Marines’ coastal operations in contested areas with a long-range reconnaissance, surveillance, and reconnaissance capability. The Navy has concluded that it must expand and improve its unmanned aerial capabilities to survive and thrive in contested areas.

Okinawa is located between the East China Sea and the Philippine Sea. It is part of the so-called first island chain, which starts from Japan in the north and extends to Taiwan and the Philippines in the south. This containment strategy aims to limit China’s military activities within the chain.

The deployment of the MQ-9A came after numerous flight operations by the Chinese military around the first island chain. On August 23, Beijing sent two drones into the “Yonaguni Gap”, a waterway less than 110 kilometers wide that separates Taiwan from Japan’s westernmost island, Yonaguni.

According to the report, the unmanned US aircraft were deployed to Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 3. The Hawaii-based squadron, which has operated a variety of drones since its activation in 2008, achieved its initial operational capability with the “Reaper” in August 2023.

The Okinawa Defense Bureau, which is under the Japanese Defense Ministry, informed the local authority in Okinawa that fewer than six U.S. Marine Corps drones will be stationed in Kadena to conduct reconnaissance, surveillance and reconnaissance activities. They will be deployed temporarily for one year, the Stars and Stripes Report added.

Photos released by the US Marine Corps on Monday show the “Reaper” drone systems being unloaded from a US Air Force transport aircraft in Kadena on August 13. The spokesman for the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing did not provide any information on the number of drones deployed for security reasons.

Ten other American drones have been stationed in Kadena since October last year. Eight of them are Air Force “Reaper” drones, while the other two are Navy MQ-4C “Triton” drones. The latter will be withdrawn in October.

Unlike the Marine variant, the Air Force’s “Reaper” can carry missiles and bombs. The “Triton” has maritime reconnaissance, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities and is part of the Navy’s maritime patrol and reconnaissance force.

Dubbed the “Keystone of the Pacific,” Kadena is a major U.S. air force stronghold in the region. The Pentagon announced in July that the Air Force will station 36 F-15EX “Eagle II” fighter jets there to replace 48 older F-15C/D “Eagle” aircraft.