Last month Japan’s Acquisitions, Technology and Logistics Agency (ATLA) selected four unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to participate in demonstration trials for its Interceptor Drone Rapid Acquisition Program.
Under the pilot initiative, procurement of a high-speed attack drone interceptor is expected to be completed within three months, with trials scheduled to conclude in August.
As ADM reported on 6 August, three of the four winning bidders had supplied drones to Ukraine, whose success in rapidly procuring battle-proven drone technology had inspired the program.
Among them was Japanese firm Terra Drone, which first deployed its Terra A1 interceptor in Ukraine in mid-April, and which has since acquired two Ukrainian drone makers as subsidiaries.
The company has also rapidly developed its domestic profile in the wake of its Ukraine success, announcing a successful bid for a ¥115 million ATLA contract for 300 UAV training models in early May, and having pledged to mass produce interceptor drones and high-output drone battery packs in Japan in July.
Last week ADM spoke with Terra Drone CEO Toru Tokushige to discuss how his company’s Ukraine experience has shaped his company’s approach to the interceptor tender and his views on Japan’s defence UAV industry.
Speaking on his company’s interceptor drone bid, Tokushige said a distinctive feature of Terra Drone’s proposal was the inclusion of a system designed for actual operational use, rather than a standalone UAV.
The package includes ground control, sensor integration, and operational support, Tokushige said.
He also outlined Terra Drone’s plans to strengthen Japan’s sovereign drone industry capacities, claiming that the company was committed to developing domestic production and cooperation with Japan’s defence industrial base and procurement and production systems centered on Japanese-made components.
The latter included the company’s entry into the Japan-made drone battery business and plans to strengthen supply chains for high-importance components including communications systems, control systems, motors, and sensors.
Another key strength of Terra Drone’s bid was its use of knowledge gained in real operational environments to inform product development, Tokushige told ADM.
Reflecting on the company’s Ukraine experience, Tokushige said that the biggest lesson from Ukraine is the importance of development speed and rapid upgrade cycles to adapt to constant shifts in factors including enemy tactics and jamming environments.
These experiences have had a major impact on our defense drone development in Japan, Tokushige claimed, including a decision to switch from a lengthier linear development-to-finalisation approach to an agile model of demonstrate, operate, improve, and repeat similar to that employed by Ukrainian drone developers.
Tokushige rated Japan’s defence drone industry overall as remaining in an early stage while possessing strong technological potential.
He added that Japan’s Self-Defense Forces’ (JSDF) use of drones needs to expand in areas including surveillance, logistics, and counter-UAS.
He stated that challenges for the domestic industry include production scale, supply chain resilience and price competitiveness, while more work is needed from the government in areas including pre-production risk mitigation for small and medium firms and export support.
Despite these challenges, Tokushige praised ATLA and the Ministry of Defense’s (MoD) growing willingness to “evaluate technologies from start-ups and emerging companies at an early stage.”
He also positively appraised the Rapid Acquisition Program for bringing testing schedules closer to the speed we have seen in Ukraine, while adding that the program’s success will also depends on steps after demonstration - including continuous upgrades, unit-level test operations and training.
In addition to the interceptor drone procurement, Terra Drone is currently advancing other proposals to ATLA and the MoD, and it is also pursuing multiple business opportunities abroad with a strategic focus on Europe, the Middle East and Asia, Tokushige added.