Attack Drones: Domestic Procurement, Human Resource Development Urgent Tasks

Editorial

14:37 JST, August 27, 2025

Russia deploys large numbers of drones on the battlefield of the Ukraine war, as well as conventional weapons such as fighter jets and tanks. Ukraine is also fighting back with drones, illustrating a drastic change in the nature of combat.

Japan must urgently adapt to this new form of fighting, as well, in preparation for future emergencies.

The Defense Ministry has compiled a plan to deploy drones in the air, at sea and underwater to defend Japan’s coastlines.

The Self-Defense Forces already use drones primarily for aerial reconnaissance, warning and surveillance activities, but most of their drones have no offensive capabilities. Under the new plan, drones equipped with missiles and other weapons will be deployed at sea and elsewhere.

The SDF will acquire more drones and aims to implement the plan in fiscal 2027.

Russia and Ukraine are actively introducing drones because they can deploy them inexpensively in large numbers. Another factor is the belief that deploying drones allows them to keep soldiers off the front lines, thereby reducing casualties.

China is also said to have established attack methods using hundreds of drones. North Korea has reportedly been provided with technology for attack drones by Russia, in exchange for its military cooperation.

It is reasonable for the Japanese government to establish a new defense system using drones.

However, there are many issues to be addressed.

Japan does not possess sufficient technical capability or production capacity to manufacture high-performance drones domestically. Major defense industry companies are said to shy away from developing inexpensive drones with low profit margins.

As a result, there is no choice but to rely on imports at the current time. During his visit to Turkey this month, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani visited an attack drone manufacturer and hinted at the possibility of purchasing drones from the country. This was prompted by Japan’s situation of having to depend on imports.

Relying on imports to procure defense equipment poses the risk of delays in the event of emergencies. It is hoped that domestic procurement will be promoted through such means as supporting emerging companies.

In addition, remotely operating multiple drones is said to require a higher-than-ever level of advanced operating technology. Cultivating such human resources is an urgent task, too.

Japan has already faced the threat of drones. The Air Self-Defense Force conducts emergency scrambles to respond to aircraft approaching Japanese airspace, and there were 30 such scrambles in response to drones believed to be from China last fiscal year. This was three times the previous record in fiscal 2022.

Drones can fly for a long period of time, so a single scramble cannot fully handle the situation. For that reason, it is necessary in some cases to monitor them in shifts. This could lead to exhaustion of the SDF. The use of drones in scrambles has become unavoidable.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Aug. 27, 2025)