Japan’s defense-procurement agency has signed a mass production procurement agreement for interceptor drones made using 3D printers, the latest move to rapidly deploy a large unmanned fleet by 2027.
The Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics Agency selected Terra B1, a rocket-launched interceptor drone, after a demonstration with the Maritime Self-Defense Forces last month.
Terra B1 is developed by domestic industrial giant Terra Drone and serves as the Japan-made counterpart to Terra A1, which had been fielded on Ukraine’s battlefields earlier this year.
ATLA neither disclosed the number of units on order nor the contract price.
In late May, the defense ministry released a tender to rapidly acquire and deploy drones that can intercept one-way attack drones such as the Shahed and anti-radar loitering munitions such as the IAI Harpy.
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Defense News
