Companies

Japan’s Hitachi to Use AI to Help Maintain Defense Equipment for SDF

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
Hitachi, Ltd.’s head office is seen in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, in November 2024.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:20 JST, January 7, 2026

Hitachi, Ltd. will launch an initiative to use artificial intelligence to support the efficient maintenance and operation of the Self-Defense Forces’ defense equipment.

The company will develop a system in which AI is used to analyze data collected from sensors installed on vehicles and naval vessels to detect signs of failure.

From as early as fiscal 2026, the company will work toward commercializing the envisaged system, hoping to secure continuous revenue after supplying it.

If the system is realized, it will help reduce the burden on SDF personnel involved in maintenance, providing significant benefits for the SDF, which face labor shortages.

Such a technology-based system is believed to be rarely used in helping to maintain defense equipment.

Currently, some defense equipment is routinely inspected by SDF personnel, with manufacturers responding when abnormalities are found.

Hitachi will apply its business expertise in maintaining and operating infrastructure using AI, an field in which the company excels in the civilian sector. It will create a system in which AI analyzes data such as operational rates and vibrations obtained through sensors, providing alerts before failures occur.

In light of the increasingly severe security environment in Asia, the government plans to spend ¥43 trillion on defense over the five years from fiscal 2023.

However, due to population decline and competition with private companies, the number of people joining the SDF remains low.

The fiscal 2023 figure for recruits was only about 50% of the target, the lowest on record. In fiscal 2024, it only reached 65% of the target.

The Defense Ministry has indicated a policy to reduce manpower in operations by using AI and other technologies.

In the defense equipment sector, Hitachi handles the SDF’s information systems, sonars installed on naval vessels as well as specialized vehicles for ammunition resupply.

Hitachi’s contract with the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency totaled ¥79.8 billion in fiscal 2024, about 3.5 times the amount in fiscal 2022.

With orders expected to continue increasing, Hitachi is reinforcing its development and production capabilities, such as by increasing employees in related businesses by 40%.