#28現場から考える安保
海上保安庁が導入を検討する無人機「シーガーディアン」=10月30日午後、海上自衛隊八戸航空基地。藤田撮影（以下同じ）藤田 直央朝日新聞編集委員
中国自衛隊海上保安庁八戸At the end of October, the "Sea Police" Japan Coast Guard was interviewing large unmanned aircraft flight experiments to consider the introduction.Will it be the "sky" of the sea insurance that protects the vast territorial waters and exclusive economic water (EEZ)?(Asahi Shimbun editorial committee member Naohiro Fujita)
※クリックすると連載ページに移ります。A slim aircraft like a glider lands from the sky off Sanriku, where the twilight in late autumn is approaching.General Atomics's "Seagardian" has returned after six hours of flight.
Returning the runway of Hachinohe Aviation Base (Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture), which was the place for flight experiments, Seagardian slowly approaches the press in front of the hangar.The rotation sound of the propeller at the rear increases.Length 11.A 7 -meter, 24 meters wide, and about 3 billion yen in front of the press stopped.The maintenance staff walks and starts checking.So it was a natural movement that recalled, "Oh, this is an unmanned aerial aircraft. It was so remote control."
At the corner of the side, facilities for maneuvering Seagardian from the ground are gathered.Among the mobile cockpits with wheels on the container, there are operators that manipulate the aircraft and surveillance cameras under the aircraft.
シーガーディアンを地上から操縦するコクピットがあるコンテナ（右）。換気のダクトが伸びている
There are two antennas to communicate to control the unmanned aircraft.The vertical length on the left can be used as long as the aircraft can be viewed, and the white side is used for a satellite without being able to see it.It seems that two switches can be smooth
無人機シーガーディアンと通信するためのアンテナThe worrisome thing about the unmanned aircraft is that if communication is cut off, it will be incapable of control.In the explanation of Kaiho, this experiment sets the aircraft to automatically return to a visible range off Hachinohe when the satellite communication is expired, and then communicates with a white antenna.If you can not control it, you will stay in the air until you use up the fuel and arrive at the sea.Avoid collision with other aircraft in the sky, of course, is a "pilot" job that is manipulated from the ground, but Seagardian also has an automatic evasion function.In this experiment, we approached the sea insurance aircraft over the sky and confirmed the function.
無人機シーガーディアンの地上のコックピット内部と、自動回避訓練の説明=海上保安庁の資料よりSeagardian can fly for about 35 hours, and can go around about 8,000 kilometers of the island country's EEZ in 24 hours.In this experiment from mid -October to one month, it fits not only off Sanriku, which is close to Hachinohe, but also around the Sea of Japan and around Iwojima, a distant south.Then, the sea insurance patrol boat on the sea is captured with a radar or an infrared camera from the sky and transmitted it to the ground.
10～11月のシーガーディアンの飛行実験の範囲=海上保安庁の資料よりEven though it was an unmanned aircraft, it was not worse than manned aircraft, and the fence near the cockpit container was made by Japanese and US stakeholders involved in experiments."We have confirmed that we can respond to long sailing performance and day and night, and we feel enough to respond (for introduction)," said Kaiho representatives.
シーガーディアンの飛行実験中の好天を願うてるてる坊主=10月30日午後、海上自衛隊八戸航空基地。藤田撮影The introduction of unmanned unmanned Kaiho is based on the "Policy on Strengthening Marine Security system", which was decided at a ministerial meeting of the Prime Minister in 2016.In the explanation of Kaiho, using the hangar beside the runway, a presentation video of General Atomics was also played."The vast management of the waters around Japan has been carried out on ships, manned aircraft, artificial satellites, etc., but it is difficult to keep sustainable in Japan, which is high in cost, declining birthrate and aging and population decline.. We must take in new technologies like unmanned aircraft by complementing conventional management and protect the sea and people in Japan. "
飛行中のシーガーディアンと部位の説明＝ジェネラル・アトミクス社提供の動画よりIn order to respond to limited ships and people, the "sea police", the "sea police", we want to increase the efficiency of aircraft monitoring.Behind this is the trend of neighboring countries.The problem of North Korea's suspicious ships and illegal operations in the Sea of Japan has been around for a long time, but China's entry into the ocean has made the situation even more serious.China has been a normalization of public ships around the Japanese territorial waters since the nationalization of the Senkaku Islands in 2012, and has continued to glare at the sea insurance ship.This year, illegal operations are conspicuous at the Japanese sea fishing grounds in the EEZ of Japan, and a marine survey ship is active off the coast of Okinotsujima, the southernmost tip of Japan.Kaiho is getting busy.
沖縄県石垣市に属する尖閣諸島。（手前から）南小島、北小島、魚釣島＝2013年。朝日新聞社機からEspecially for regional security, if you can't afford it with a coastal insurance, the Maritime Self -Defense Force will come in.The same is true for the JMSDF, and the cooperation between the two is indispensable.It is important to share information and awareness from normal times in case of emergency.According to the Kaiho representative, the information gained by Seagardian in this experiment was shared with the JMSDF as indicating the monitoring ability of "the car on the ground from the top of Mt. Fuji".We will also hear the JMSDF opinion about the use of the introduction.
シーガーディアンが夜に上空から赤外線カメラで撮影した海保の巡視船。甲板上の乗員まで見える=海保提供の動画よりBy the way, this experiment was held at the JMSDF Hachinohe Aviation Base in search of a runway under the condition that the ocean insurance can be used 24 hours a day, there is no competition with a civilian aircraft, and there is no damage to the local residents.It was the background of the cooperation of the JMSDF.Nevertheless, this day of the interview coincided with the training of the patrol aircraft P3C, which is the "sky eye of the sky" belonging to Hachinohe Aviation Base, the Seagardian flight was only on a round trip to the Tsugaru Strait.The explanation of the sea insurance using the hangar was occasionally blocked by P3C's take -off and landing.
海自八戸基地の格納庫を使って報道陣にシーガーディアンについて説明する海保の担当者=10月30日午後、同基地。藤田撮影In addition to improving unmanned unmanned unmanned unmanned aircraft, it will not only improve the abilities of sea insurance, but also to deepen the cooperation between the sea insurance and the JMSDF through the sharing and operation of monitoring information, and to improve the power to protect the sea in Japan.After finishing the interview, I returned to the rental car, followed the runway, following the leading vehicle, and left the base.
飛行実験で海自八戸航空基地に戻ったシーガーディアンミサイル防衛や最新鋭戦闘機など、自衛隊の訓練や兵器が報道陣に公開されることがあります。ふだん近づけない自衛隊の「現場」から見えてくるものとは――。時には自分で訓練を体験しながら、日本政治の焦点であり続ける自衛隊を追う記者が思いをつづります。1/22枚