Japanese firm Terra Drone has won a tender to provide interceptor unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), according to a company press release posted on 25 August.
The signing, which occurred a mere two months from the original deadline for bid submissions, marks the first tender awarded under the Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency’s (ATLA) ‘fast-track’ rapid acquisition initiative.
The winning model, Terra B1, was the only system to pass a series of demonstration tests among a short-listed pool which featured Beyond Vision’s BVQ40, Quantum Systems’ QS Interceptor, and Dzyne Technologies’ IonStrike, according to the press release.
While there is little publicly available information on the Terra B1’s performance specifications, the company has described the model as low-cost and capable of intercepting long-range loitering UAVs like Iran’s Shahed kamikaze drone used extensively by Russia in Ukraine.
It added that the model met unspecified requirements in relation to factors including integration with other systems, and the capacity for multiple units to be controlled simultaneously.
In an interview with ADM, Terra Drone CEO Toru Tokushige added that the participating interceptor drone was in the 300 km/h class, and that the company’s bid included sensor integration, as well as a supply structure that could be rapidly leveraged to boost production volumes.
Highlighting additional strengths in their bid, Tokushige stated that the company brought to the table operational experience from the war in Ukraine along with established domestic manufacturing capacities and industry connections.
On 31 March, Terra Drones announced that it was collaborating with Ukrainian firm Amazing Drones to deploy its Terra AI interceptor drone in the Russo-Ukrainian conflict.
In late April, the company stated that Terra AI had demonstrated its capability to respond to long-range unmanned aerial threats under actual operational conditions.
In relation to domestic production capacities, Tokushige told ADM earlier in August that the Terra B1 had been shortlisted for demonstration tests under the framework of ATLA’s domestic defence industrial base and Japan-made drone initiatives.
In early July, prior to the B1’s shortlisting by ATLA, Tokushige announced that his company already had plans to set up a system enabling domestic production of up to tens of thousands of interceptor drones a year.
Later that month a company press release announced that Terra Drone would also set up a Japan-based mass production system for high-output drone battery packs using cylindrical cells, with Tokushige later telling ADM that the company’s policy was to build procurement and production systems centered on Japanese-made components.
“For defence applications, performance alone is not enough. The reliability of suppliers, continuity of procurement, and compliance with export controls are also critical," He added.
Terra Drone’s defence business has enjoyed a meteoric rise following its announcement of a full scale entry into the defence equipment market in March this year.
It has since announced a winning bid for a ¥115 million (approx. A $1 million) ATLA contract for UAV training models, acquired two companies as subsidiaries in Ukraine, and set up a European defence arm in Estonia as well as a subsidiary in the United States.
The Ministry of Defense’s selection of a local firm for the high-profile drone procurement program is also a shot in the arm for Japan’s budding domestic defence drone industry more broadly, whose development has been strongly promoted by Japan’s Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi.