In this fortnightly online column, ADM journalist Corey Lee Bell covers defence news across Japan and the Republic of Korea.
Japan has selected one of the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platforms that will form part of its recently advanced SHIELD unmanned littoral defence network, the nation’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) announced on 12 May.
SHIELD, which stands for Synchronised, Hybrid, Integrated and Enhanced Littoral Defence, was listed as a key priority in the MoD’s 2026 defence budget paper, with an allocation of 100 billion yen (approx. A $880 million).
In a two-page statement, the ministry said that it had chosen a small attack UAV (Type I) after the conclusion of a competitive bidding process including demonstration flights.
The Type I, one of three types of small attack UAVs slated for inclusion in the program, is tasked with “detecting, identifying and rapidly countering targets including vehicles,” according to the statement.
The initial information/proposal request form, which was released by the Defense Plans and Operations Department of the Ground Staff Office (GSO) in April 2023, described the then-proposed Type I platform as a small attack drone what can either be “equipped with warheads for attacking targets directly” or “fitted with explosive materials.”
A more detailed GSO proposal request published in July 2023 stated that the chosen platform was to meet the department’s need for a lightweight devise that can be “carried by personnel in frontline units” and that has the capacity to immobilise targets “including unarmoured/unmechanised infantry units.”
The same document described the Type II as a man-portable attack drone capable of longer-range attacks on “boats and lightly armoured vehicles,” and the Type III as a vehicle-mounted system capable of extended loitering.
The attack drone selection statement came several days after Japanese company Terra Drone, an offshoot of electric vehicle company Terra Motors, announced that it had won a 115-million-yen (approx. A $1 million) contract to supply the MoD with 300 modular UAVs – another platform listed in Japan’s SHIELD program proposal.
A statement released by Terra Drones in March listed SHIELD as one of the factors behind its decision to enter the defence equipment market.
The decision was also followed by new developments in Japan’s plans to increase its UAV arsenal.
On 18 May, The Yomiuri Shimbun reported that the government is considering equipping UAVs – possibly recently ordered MQ-9B SeaGuardian long endurance drones – with early warning radar systems.
A defence draft recommendation released on the same day by Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) also called for the rapid, large-scale acquisition of interceptor drones, stating that Japan needs the capability to counter saturation attacks “without relying solely on expensive interceptor missiles."
The program is to be comprised of ten types of UAVs, unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), and has been cast as an urgent initiative by the government, with the entire system expected to be deployed by an ambitious April 2028 deadline.
Strengthening the Japanese Self-Defense Force’s (JSDF) drone capabilities has become a hot button issue in Japan, with Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizume receiving a grilling on the progress of the nation’s UAV capabilities during a House of Representatives’ Committee on Security meeting in early May after announcing plans to make Japan a “leader” in the use of military drones.
Japan’s drone buildup has also been criticised in China, where the People’s Liberation Army news outlet PLA Daily has described SHIELD as “in reality a spear,” while stating “Japan’s development of an unmanned offensive military capability is tantamount to a dangerous gamble… [which] will only lead it into a more perilous abyss.”
Drone capabilities are expected to receive additional focus in the end-of-year release of Japan’s revised three security documents (the National Security Strategy, National Defense Strategy and Defense Buildup Program) after receiving prominent attention in a late April national security advisory panel meeting and in the recently convened second meeting of the Japan Growth Strategy Council’s Defense Industry Working Group.