LARGE fleets of military drones – both Australian and foreign – could soon fill the Territory’s skies.

In a submission to a Federal Government inquiry on “unmanned aircraft systems”, the NT Government said it would welcome US and Australian drones being based at RAAF Tindal, on the outskirts of Katherine.

The senate inquiry held its most recent hearings late last week, and will table a report by June 25.

“Basing such systems in the Northern Territory, particularly at RAAF Base Tindal, where population centres are small and there are vast remote areas between those centres, is likely to attract far less adverse public concern than in the major population centres such as Adelaide and Brisbane,” the submission said.

The report, authored by NT Department of Business manager of defence industry development Graham Tribe, argues that drones will play a key role in border protection, and in maintaining a military presence around strategically important offshore oil and gas projects.

The report describes Darwin as a “resilient, welcoming and united in its support of ­Defence, Defence personnel and Defence families.” The NT was the only state or Territory government to lodge a submission with the inquiry, which was dominated by aerospace companies and human rights groups.

The US is beefing up its military assets across Asia, with Australian bases soon to host some of its most formidable strategic weapons.

A US defence official said American B-1 bombers were bound for Australia as a deterrent to what they described as China's "destabilising effect" in the region.

The move is part of the Obama administration's plans to "assert freedom of navigation" in the South China Sea.

Assistant US defence secretary David Shear confirmed the move.

"We will be placing additional air force assets in Australia as well as B-1 bombers and surveillance aircraft," he said.

China's foreign ministry expressed "serious concern".

The US air force said the B-1 bomber was the back bone of its long-range bomber force

Mr Shear told a special congressional hearing on the South China Sea the deployment of air assets to Australia was in addition to the doubling of US marines bound for Darwin, leaving their current base in Japan. "We will be moving significant numbers of Marines to Hawaii, Guam and Australia," he said. "So we will have a very strong presence, very strong continued posture throughout the region to back our commitments to our allies, to protect and work with our partners and to continue ensuring peace and stability in the region.

Deadlock over the controversial relocation of a US military base in southern Japan deepened Friday when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met the anti-base governor of Okinawa.

The two men remained as far apart as ever after a 30-minute meeting that analysts said was largely Abe going through the motions of consultation ahead of a key trip to the United States.

Takeshi Onaga told reporters he asked Abe "to tell President Obama that the governor of Okinawa and his people are clearly against" plans to build a new facility on the semi-tropical island's coast in exchange for the shuttering of Futenma airbase.

The issue has queered relations between Tokyo and Okinawa, a once independent kingdom that was annexed by Japan in the 19th century, for nearly two decades, and is an irritant in ties with Washington.

Okinawa is home to more than half of the 47,000 US service personnel stationed in Japan as part of a defence alliance, a proportion many islanders say is too high.

Futenma, whose busy runway sits in the middle of a densely-populated city, has become emblematic of that ill-will since Washington announced plans to move it in 1996, in what the US hoped would ease tensions with the host community.

Locals have blocked the move, insisting the facility should go off-island instead, and last year elected the vehemently anti-base Onaga, who is determined to block construction of the new base on the coast.

The standoff between Tokyo and Okinawa has hardened over recent weeks, with demonstrations near the construction site, putting pressure on Abe to ease tensions.

At the start of Friday's meeting, Abe pledged he will "work towards reducing burdens" on Okinawa, but insisted the current plan "is the only solution".

Onaga hit back that three recent popular votes in Okinawa all "showed overwhelming opposition by Okinawans to the construction of a new base."

"Okinawa has never voluntarily offered to host bases," he said, noting that lands were seized during the post-World War II US occupation.

"I'm concerned that things may get nasty if the government keeps taking the current high-handed approach ... prompting anger not only among Okinawans but among some outside the islands," he said. Tokyo and Washington are working to update the guidelines governing their military alliance at a time of rising disquiet over China's growing assertiveness.

The Pentagon announced plans on Thursday to close 15 military bases in Europe in an effort to save around $500 million dollars a year. While there will only be a slight reduction in overall force levels, critics are concerned that this decision is coming at exactly the wrong time — when Europe is facing the prospect of further Russian aggression in Ukraine. Over the past 10 years, U.S. military presence in Europe has slowly declined, and the recent European Infrastructure Consolidation review is an attempt to accelerate the process in light of fiscal concerns. The closed bases will be returned to their host governments.

a small step in the right direction?

The US military has flown two Boeing B-52 bombers into Darwin ahead of multi-national war games hosted by the Australian Defence Force (ADF).

The B-52s, weighing more than 125,000 kilograms each, will form the tactical backbone of a training exercise dubbed Pitch Black, according to military officials.

Two teams made up of men and women from the US armed forces have also arrived in the Top End to take part in the exercise.

The simulated conflict will involve long-range tactics in the vast, empty airspace between Darwin and Katherine.

US Marines began arriving in the Territory on a six-month rotational basis in mid-2012 and have since undertaken joint training exercises with the ADF.

According to a statement, the rotations of US military equipment and personnel in the Pacific region "enhance US ability to train, exercise and operate with Australia and with other allies and partners across the region, further enabling the US to work together with these nations to respond more quickly to a wide range of challenges, including humanitarian crises and disaster relief, as well as promoting security cooperation efforts across the region".

Decisions on future rotations remain under discussion, the statement adds.