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Japan Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Japan has lagged surprsingly far behind the rest of the world in the use of drones in the military. However, by 2022 the Ministry of Defense has finally changed its perception and announced that it will forge ahead with full-scale introduction and operation of drones. In the National Defense Strategy published in December 2022, drones were positioned as "unmanned assets" for the first time and were highlighted as one of the measures to fundamentally strengthen defense capabilities. The strategy emphasized that combining drones with AI and manned equipment "could be a game changer that fundamentally transforms the structure and way of fighting of forces."

It is stated that in the future, they will utilize unmanned assets in all domains, including air, surface, and underwater, and will move forward with early installation of unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), as well as the introduction of attack drones, which they have previously been reluctant to introduce. "By roughly 10 years from now, we will further specify how we will fight using unmanned assets, accelerate the development and introduction of models that take into account the geographical characteristics of our country, and expand full-scale operation," it states.

The drone-related budget also increased significantly, with a budget of approximately 200 billion yen for fiscal year 2023 and approximately 1 trillion yen over the five years until 2027. In fiscal year 2023 as well, the government plans to continue improving the capabilities of ScanEagle, acquiring Skyrangers, maintaining and upgrading Global Hawks, as well as demonstrating the operation of drones for surveillance and monitoring of garrisons and important defense facilities, and attack drones.

There are many people in Japan who are opposed to dual-use drones, which can be used for both civilian and military purposes. But, in the first place, war is a clash between nations, not just of military power, but also of economic and technological power. In a situation that requires dual use on an epic scale, such as a nation's military, economic, and technological power, it is nonsense to separate individual technologies into 'military' and 'civilian'. Of course, public and private sectors need to work together to increase international competitiveness in peacetime as well.

Currently, major countries are developing highly autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles that can cooperate with manned aircraft, and it is believed that this technology has the potential to significantly change future aerial combat. Such autonomous unmanned aircraft will share roles with manned aircraft and will be responsible for missions such as information gathering, reconnaissance, surveillance, and combat in dangerous situations. In addition, they are expected to have advanced functions and capabilities such as formulating tactics that each aircraft should adopt based on the battle situation and proposing them to the pilots of manned aircraft, thereby reducing the burden on humans. In addition, by utilizing unmanned aircraft, which have characteristics such as no risk to human life and low cost of aircraft, it will be possible to carry out missions with lower risk.

To realize these technologies, for example, aircraft control technologies such as flight control technology and swarm technology for flying in groups, communication technology for connecting drones with manned aircraft, other drones, and ground stations, as well as command and control technology for analyzing and processing collected information and creating, updating, and presenting operational instructions in a timely manner are required. In addition, drones intended for combat, such as the XQ-58A "Valkyrie" being developed by the United States, need to have a high level of autonomy and ensure aircraft performance that can respond to combat, while also being required to be less expensive than manned aircraft because they are responsible for dangerous missions. For this reason, advanced technologies that contribute to lowering prices, such as 3D printers, are also attracting attention.

In order to steadily secure Japan's technological superiority, the Ministry of Defense published the "Vision for Research and Development of Future Unmanned Equipment - Focusing on Aerial Unmanned Vehicles" in 2016, and is also conducting research and development on cooperative technology between manned and unmanned aircraft. In addition, we believe that research into this technology can contribute to automating command and control, reducing manpower, and optimizing operations, expanding the scope of autonomy for equipment, and increasing the speed and accuracy of information gathering and decision-making capabilities.

Drones are considered a "game changer" that will dramatically alter the battlefield, and military forces around the world are competing to introduce them. Even before small multi-rotor unmanned aircraft (so-called drones) came into the spotlight, there were nearly 2,000 unmanned aircraft with the term "industrial" flying in the skies of Japan, and it is expected that they will continue to expand their scope of activity to various fields in the future. The Japan Industrial Unmanned Aircraft Association (JUAV) was established in 2004 as the Japan Industrial Unmanned Aircraft Association with the aim of promoting the safe operation of industrial unmanned aircraft (hereinafter referred to as UAV) operated in Japan and contributing to the healthy development and development of the UAV market. In 2017, it was launched as a general incorporated association centered on manufacturers of unmanned aircraft, including small multi-rotor aircraft. As the fields of use of UAVs expand, the demand from society for ensuring safety is increasing. In order to meet this social demand, the Japan Industrial Unmanned Aircraft Association (JUAV) aims to create unified safety standards for UAVs in Japan as an industry.

The history of UAVs in Japan began aropudn the turn fo the century with the development and introduction of unmanned helicopters in Japan to efficiently supplement the use of manned helicopters to spray pesticides on rice paddies. Since then, the number of UAVs has increased in an instant in response to the convenience of unmanned helicopters and the changes in the social environment surrounding agriculture. They are also used for a variety of purposes, such as aerial seeding for forestation work and pine bark beetle control, and for volcanic observation of Mt. Usu and Miyakejima, gradually expanding their range of operation.

Regarding agricultural use, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Aviation Association, which is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, has established operational standards for unmanned helicopters for agricultural use, and is responsible for the certification of pilot qualifications and aircraft. On the other hand, there were no rules for non-agricultural use. Therefore, in 2002, four companies involved in the development, manufacture and operation of industrial unmanned helicopters (Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., Kawada Industries Co., Ltd., Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd., and Yanmar Agricultural Machinery Co., Ltd.) launched the "Industrial Unmanned Helicopter Study Group." Since then, under the guidance of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the industry has been working on unified safety standards guidelines for the operation of unmanned aircraft for non-agricultural use. In 2004, the safety standards for unmanned helicopters were compiled, and for more than 10 years since then, the group has supported the safe operation of more than 2,000 industrial UAVs.

Meanwhile, in the past few years, sensors, motors, and batteries have become smaller and more powerful, and the market for small multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicles has expanded dramatically. Initially, small aircraft for hobby use were the mainstream, but in recent years, payloads and flight times have increased, and the use of small multi-rotor aircraft for industrial purposes has also increased dramatically.

In response to this, discussions on the use and safety management of unmanned aerial vehicles have been intensifying in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and other related ministries and agencies, and in 2015, the revised Aviation Act, which newly defined unmanned aerial vehicles, was enacted, but the establishment of legal provisions and safety standards to realize full-scale operation is a major issue for the future. Therefore, it is necessary for not only manufacturers but also users, those involved in research, sales, operation, etc. to work together to effectively and uniformly operate the safety standards, and it is necessary to consider safety standards for all unmanned aerial vehicles, including not only unmanned helicopters but also small multi-rotors, etc., so we have decided to dissolve the Japan Industrial Unmanned Aircraft Association and launch a new organization called the Japan Industrial Unmanned Aircraft Association (JUAV).

JAXA supports the expansion of small unmanned aerial vehicles (small drones) through research and development of basic and fundamental technologies for improving the flight safety and mission capabilities of these vehicles, thereby contributing to the realization of a safe and prosperous society. In addition, JAXA will contribute to the development of the economy and society by conducting research and development of flight technology with a focus on improving efficiency and environmental compatibility to meet the growing demand for aircraft flight operations.

The Hachinohe Air Base of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force in Aomori Prefecture is a key defense base that is home to a unit of P3C patrol aircraft that monitor suspicious ships and submarines. In June 2023, a drone called "Sea Guardian" was unveiled to the press for the first time. Sea Guardian is based on the Reaper, an unmanned attack aircraft used by the US military in the Iraq War and other warfare, but it is not armed. It is characterized by a high-resolution camera installed under the nose and a radar under the fuselage, specializing in monitoring the sea. The MSDF has been conducting test operations since May 2023 year to verify whether drones can replace some of the surveillance and monitoring missions currently performed by manned patrol aircraft such as the P3C.

The Air Self-Defense Force had introduced three drones by 2023. The Global Hawk, a large unmanned reconnaissance aircraft developed in the United States, is capable of reconnaissance and surveillance from an altitude of 20,000 meters. A unit that operates this aircraft was established at the Misawa Air Base of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force in Aomori Prefecture in December 2022. Research and development of unmanned aircraft equipped with AI (artificial intelligence) is also underway.

The Ministry of Defense is aiming to develop a "combat support unmanned aircraft" that can detect enemy fighter jets early and relay information to manned fighter jets.

The Ministry of Defense and the Self-Defense Forces are moving forward with the introduction of drones. Security experts familiar with global drone trends point out that Japan is lagging far behind other countries in this regard.