NIPPON


 

Japan's Ministry of Defense said Friday that it will ask for a record budget of 8,845.4 billion yen for fiscal 2026 starting next April.

The ministry will request 128.7 billion yen for acquiring many unmanned vehicles to build in fiscal 2027 the multilayer coastal defense system Shield, in which manned and unmanned vehicles are operated together.

It will also reorganize its Air Self-Defense Force into an air and space SDF in fiscal 2026 to improve its operational capabilities in space.

With unmanned vehicles used on a large scale in Ukraine and the Middle East, the ministry understands that they have changed how wars are fought.

For the Shield system, the ministry will introduce vehicles for the interception of enemy vessels that invade coastal areas, information gathering and the defense of radar sites.