Australian defence firm DefendTex has won a tender bid from Japan’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) to be the supplier of the latter’s Small Attack Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) (Type I), according to several official and unofficial Japanese sources.
On 12 May, Japan’s MoD released a two-page press release announcing that it had selected a platform after the conclusion of demonstration flights.
Although the winning bidder was not announced, an image included in the press release appears to show a DefendTex Drone40 multi-modal UAV.
This corroborates a statement made by Chief of Staff of the Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) Masoyashi Arai on 24 February that Drone40 had been selected.
That statement, which was in response to a question during a regular press conference on 24 February, was made prior to the official conclusion of the tender evaluation process.
Two weeks after the MoD press release, Japan’s Parliamentary Vice-Minister also discussed Australia-Japan cooperation in military UAVs, according to a 27 May post on the MoD’s official X account.
Unofficial speculation regarding the DefendTex bid first arose on 17 February, when former Greens Japan candidate and Network Against Japan Arms Trade (NAJAT) representative Koji Sugihara announced that the Drone40 had been selected as the Type I supplier on X.
According to Sugihara, the selection occurred after an Israeli competitor withdrew from the process leaving Drone40 as the only bidder – a development Sugihara claimed to have been a “win” for a then two-year civic Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (DVS) campaign targeting Israel.
The Small Attack UAV (Type I) is to be tasked with “detecting, identifying and rapidly countering targets including vehicles,” according to the MoD 12 May press release.
While the cost of the procurement was not announced in the MoD press release, the Small Attack UAV (Type I) was set aside a budget of 3.2 billion yen (approx. A $28 million) in the 2025 defence budget.
It is one of three small UAV types slated to be included in Japan’s recently announced SHIELD (Synchronised, Hybrid, Integrated and Enhanced Littoral Defense) unmanned defence system, which has been allocated 100 billion yen (approx. A $880 million) in the provisional 2026 defence budget.
DefendTex’s official website describes the Drone40 as a low-cost and man-portable “swarming, autonomous, multi-payload loitering UAS (Unmanned Aerial System)” that can be launched by hand, vehicle or a standard 40mm grenade launcher, and that features a GPS-based autopilot system and encrypted radio data link.
Each unit weighs only 200 grams, with a maximum takeoff weight of 400 grams, a maximum dash speed of 20 metres per second, and a range of 35 kilometres.
Payload options include explosively formed penetrators (EFP), fragmentation and smoke grenades, standard and thermal cameras, as well as lighting and flashbangs.
While a Japanese MoD contract is likely to mark a boon for the Australian company, the Drone40 has had substantial international exposure.
In July 2021, the United States Marine Corps released an image of a Drone40 being tested by a member of the 2d Marine Division at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
This followed images released by the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence in late 2020 which showed the Drone40 being used in a Mission Readiness Exercise (MRX) by a British Army Contingent prior to their deployment to Mali as part of the United Nations’ MINUSMA mission.
The system has since been used in multiple weapons trails carried out by the British Army.
ADM approached DefendTex for comment on the Small Attack UAV (Type I) procurement but did not receive a response prior to publication.