Source: japantimes.co.jp
Tokyo-based Terra Drone is expanding its investment in Ukrainian interceptor drones as it looks to bring battlefield-tested technology back to Japan to tap into a multibillion-dollar defense budget for unmanned systems.
On Tuesday, Terra Drone CEO Toru Tokushige said the company was entering a new strategic partnership with Ukraine’s WinnyLab to develop fixed-wing interceptor drones. It comes after the company announced in March that it would make an investment in Ukraine’s Amazing Drones to develop vertical take-off interceptor drones. Financial details weren’t disclosed.
“Starting with interceptor drones we are looking for products that are good for increasing the defensive power of Ukraine and also the defensive power of Japan,” Tokushige said in an interview.
Terra Drone’s share price has more than tripled on the Tokyo Stock Exchange this year on expectations it is well placed to win domestic orders for military drones. In the current fiscal year, Japan’s government has allocated almost $2 billion to strengthen defense capabilities involving unmanned systems.
Japan lags behind many other developed countries in drone technology, particularly in the military-use sector. A recent move by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to ease most restrictions on weapons exports is aimed at strengthening the national defense industrial base by encouraging companies to invest in research and development and manufacturing.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s yearslong effort to repel Russian attacks has offered a testing ground for drone development. Interceptor drones are designed to destroy threats such as missiles and other drones by ramming them or exploding near them. The technology has recently emerged as an alternative to expensive missile interceptors used by the United States and its allies to defend against Iranian drones and missile attacks.
Fixed-wing interceptor drones, which resemble small aircraft, typically offer longer flight times than rocket-shaped vertical takeoff interceptor drones. That provides the opportunity to intercept incoming projectiles further away, although vertical takeoff interceptor drones can typically be deployed more quickly.
Ukraine currently restricts drone exports because of its own battlefield needs, but Tokushige said he hoped that interceptor drones could be brought into Japan in six months to a year.
“We’d like to hurry up as soon as possible because the demand is here already,” he said.
After Terra Drone announced its tie-up with Amazing Drones last month, Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Japanese ambassador to Moscow to lodge a protest, a move that Tokushige described as an “overreaction.”
He added that Terra Drone was committed to further investments in Ukraine, a country he said he had visited nine times in the last seven months.
The global military drone market is estimated to be worth $15.8 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $22.8 billion by 2030, according to forecasts from MarketsandMarkets.
