Defense Ministry Eyes Using UAVs Instead of Jet Scrambles, Seeks to Reduce Costs of Responding to Chinese Drones

The Yomiuri Shimbun

8:00 JST, September 15, 2025

The Defense Ministry is considering the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) instead of scrambling Self-Defense Forces aircraft in response to Chinese drones, according to sources.

The ministry plans to use the MQ-9B SeaGuardian, a U.S.-made UAV that the Maritime Self-Defense Force plans to introduce and which can fly for an extended time. The Air Self-Defense Force will conduct tests over three years starting next fiscal year.

The aim is to reduce operation costs of fighter jets.

The MSDF plans to introduce SeaGuardians in fiscal 2027 to enhance its intelligence and surveillance capabilities in the East China Sea and elsewhere. The ASDF is expected to use the UAVs to verify whether it can track and monitor other drones and assess how much it can be used in place of scrambling. The ministry has appropriated about ¥1.1 billion in related costs in its budget request for next fiscal year.

In fiscal 2024, a total of 30 Chinese drones, including those assumed to be Chinese ones, were confirmed by the ministry to be flying around the Nansei Islands and elsewhere, prompting the scrambling of ASDF fighter jets. This was more than triple the nine seen in fiscal 2023.

As of the end of August this fiscal year, 16 Chinese drones had already been spotted.

Two fighter jets are scrambled, in principle, when aircraft or drones posing a risk of airspace incursion are detected by surveillance and control radar or other means. However, each fighter jet is extremely expensive, and fuel expenses and personnel costs for pilots are also significant.

Some in the ministry speculate that China is increasingly flying drones, which involve a low cost per aircraft, thereby waging a war of attrition against Japan and Taiwan.

The SeaGuardian is not only equipped with optical and infrared sensors but also with radar capable of observation at night and in bad weather. Its surveillance capabilities are high, leading the ministry to believe that the UAV will be able to replace fighter jets’ scrambling to a certain degree.

In the event of an airspace violation, fighter jets issue warnings demanding that the other side withdraw. The jets also send out signal flares, and in a worst-case scenario, they launch missiles. However, the SeaGuardian is not equipped with such warning and attack functions.

A key issue in using UAVs instead of fighter jets’ scrambling will be how the drone can respond to airspace incursions.