CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — A U.S. aircraft that specializes in detecting radioactive debris after the detonation of a nuclear device has arrived on Okinawa amid rising tensions on the Korean peninsula.
An Air Force WC-135 Constant Phoenix — commonly referred to as a nuke-sniffer — arrived at Kadena Air Base last Friday evening, said Satoru Kuba, an Okinawan who monitors military aircraft traffic at Kadena Air Base.
Photos obtained by Stars and Stripes show the plane sitting on the base’s runway.
A spokesperson for the Air Force’s 18th Wing at Kadena did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and Japan’s Ministry of Defense would not immediately verify the report.
However, a senior Japan Self-Defense Forces official confirmed the aircraft’s arrival, according to a report Wednesday by Japan’s Nikkei newspaper.
The Pentagon has often deployed one of the Air Force’s two WC-135 aircraft to the Asia-Pacific region since North Korea detonated an underground nuclear device in 2006. The plane also flew over Japan in 2011 after the meltdown at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, according to the Washington Post.
The modified C-135B uses external flow-through devices that collect air samples and debris. The samples later go to a lab for analysis.
The Constant Phoenix arrives at a time of growing tensions with North Korea, which has conducted two nuclear tests and test-fired nearly 30 missiles since last year.
Acting South Korean President Hwang Kyo-ahn has warned that the North may conduct “provocations” in connection with several upcoming events.
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