HFGCS STATION YOKOTA

YOKOTA is a Pacific Theater station on the High Frequency Global Communications System (HFGCS), based at Yokota Air Base in Tokyo, Japan.

Station Identity

HFGCS CallsignYOKOTA
ALE CallsignJTY
TheaterPacific Theater
NCS RoleANCS (associated with ANDREWS)
DesignationFAC 3050 (Yokota Air Base)

Station data from hfgcs-msl:

  Id: "10lllee2e",
  station: "JTY",
  name: "YOKOTA",
  ncs: "ANCS",
  observation: "STN FVRS",
  theater: "Pacific Theater"

Site Locations

Like most HFGCS stations, Yokota uses separate sites for transmission and reception, located 10–20 km (6–12 mi) from the base itself. The geographic separation prevents high-power transmitters (rated up to 25 kW) from desensitizing the sensitive HF receivers. For comparison, Offutt’s transmission and reception sites are separated by 45 km.

Tokorozawa Transmitter Site

DesignationFAC 3049
FunctionHF transmission to U.S. military aircraft
LocationTokorozawa City, Saitama Prefecture
Coordinates35.808333, 139.471389
Area~978,840 m²
Wikipedia所沢通信基地
Wikimapia374 CS Tokorozawa Transmitter Site

Antennas

  • 8 LP (log-periodic) directional antennas
  • 13 discone omnidirectional antennas
  • 2 LTO antennas (installed 2005, replacing deteriorated LP antennas)
  • 1 microwave tower for relay to Yokota Base and Owada (installed 1978, removed 2018)

HFGCS transmitter sites use the AS-3482/GRC rotatable log-periodic antenna (LPH-89): 2–30 MHz, up to 25 kW, 92’ tall with twin towers supporting a rotating platform. The LP antennas documented at Tokorozawa are consistent with this type. Antenna maintenance at both Tokorozawa and Owada is covered under a Long Wave Inc. contract ($112.6M, through 2030).

Tokorozawa complements the Owada receiving site. The facility is not subject to Japanese Radio Law under the Status of Forces Agreement. It also supports helicopter and V-22 Osprey VTOL operations.

Owada Communications Site

DesignationFAC 3056
FunctionHF reception (paired with Tokorozawa for TX)
LocationNiiza City, Saitama Prefecture / Kiyose City, Tokyo
Coordinates35.781667, 139.544722
Area~1,197,700 m²
Wikipedia大和田通信所
Wikimapia374 CS Owada Receiver Site

Equipment

  • 23 large-scale and 200 small-scale radio receivers
  • 90 wooden main pillars (6 m tall) with horizontal wire antennas
  • Heliport (established 1981)

Located in the Musashino Plateau, the site was chosen for its stable communication conditions and freedom from radio interference. It is jointly managed with the Japanese Ministry of Defense.

Inter-site communications between Yokota, Tokorozawa, and Owada historically relied on microwave relay (the AIRCOM system). Following the 2018 removal of the Tokorozawa microwave tower, a 2025 procurement (FA520925Q014A) indicates modernization to Radio Frequency over Fiber (RFoF) — a 4-channel bi-directional system on single-mode fiber covering 3 MHz to 1.215 GHz, encompassing the full HF band used by HFGCS.

Momote

FunctionReceiver site (non-HFGCS?)
LocationWako City, Saitama Prefecture
Coordinates35.7770, 139.6134
Unit374th Communications Squadron (374 CS)
OriginFormer Camp Drake (FAC 3048) South Camp
Area~118,000 m²
Wikimapia374 CS Momote Receiver Site

Originally the Momote Village Housing Annex (142 acres, 167 units) at Camp Drake South Camp, most of the housing was returned under the Kanto Plain Consolidation Plan in the late 1970s. The antenna compound in Wako City Minami 2-chome, adjacent to the RIKEN campus, also hosts the AFN Tokyo AM transmitter ("Eagle 810," 810 kHz, 50 kW). Federal procurement records consistently list Momote as a Yokota GSU alongside Tokorozawa and Owada, and Wikimapia labels the site as "374 CS Momote Receiver Site."

Monitoring Interest

SKYMASTER events on the HFGCS, which are part of large U.S. nuclear exercises run by STRATCOM, have included international elements: activity in Greenland, near the Faroe Islands in the GIUK gap, Norway, and broader European/NATO involvement. However, no exercises have been confirmed to involve Japanese activity.

This may reflect a gap in observation rather than a gap in participation. Four years of HFGCS monitoring have relied primarily on online radios in North America and Europe, with limited coverage of the Pacific. Since many Japanese online radios are available, it may be possible to investigate whether Yokota participates in SKYMASTER exercises.

A related observation: very few Chinese online radios are available compared to neighboring countries. This raises questions about informational asymmetry in the region regarding signals intelligence matters.