Japan to Deploy Autonomous Interceptor Drones by 2027, Defense Budget for Unmanned Systems Rising to 277 Billion Yen

Japan plans to deploy autonomous interceptor drones by 2027 to complement standoff-strike capabilities, the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency stated. The agency released notices for a demonstration schedule next month to fast-track acquisitions and move toward mass production.

The Ministry of Defense issued an earlier notice late last month seeking unmanned systems able to detect and counter swarms of long-range suicide UAVs such as the Shahed-136.

The craft must already be in service with other armed forces and have shot down Shahed-like drones, connect with existing radars and command-and-control systems, require two or fewer personnel for stand-off launch and flight management, and need minimal maintenance.

Japan's Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi visited the Prodrone research facility in Nagoya on May 20, 2026. Terra Drone has been in talks with the ministry since fielding two interceptor types in Ukraine through Kyiv-based startups.

In March the company invested in Amazing Drones to develop the rocket-type Terra 1, and in May it launched the fixed-wing Terra 2 through Ukrainian firm WinnyLab. ” He said drone technology is evolving rapidly in Ukraine and that the Middle East conflict has shown the lethality of Shahed-like drones, which flew as far as 1,100 miles from Tehran to Tel Aviv.

“Originally my image of the defense industry is that it’s very much traditional, very much bureaucratic, very slow.

But after visiting Ukraine, and also because of the war in the Middle East, everybody understands the value of drones and the value of investing in drones,” Tokushige said. 72 billion) from 111 billion yen ($690 million) in 2025. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party on June 9 approved a proposal to produce some 80,000 drones annually by 2030.