Targeting "unmanned defense", Japan's ability to invest heavily | government | price
On July 22, the website of American diplomats reported that on December 16, 2022, the government led by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida released three documents outlining a grand plan to invest in defense and security capabilities. Subsequently, the Japanese parliament approved the 2023 fiscal year defense budget in February this year, increasing defense spending by 26% to a record high of 6.82 trillion yen. Both strategic documents and defense budgets emphasize Japan's intention to invest in a range of unmanned platforms and capabilities. These documents show that Japan has clearly shifted its attitude from only briefly mentioning unmanned driving systems in previous years, placing unmanned equipment at the core of the Kishida government's restructuring defense strategy.
According to reports, the Kishida government's National Defense Strategy outlines Japan's defense goals for the next 10 years and identifies "unmanned defense capabilities" as one of the seven key areas to strengthen Japan's defense capabilities. Specifically, the Kishida government envisions that unmanned equipment, as well as "cross domain" capabilities and "command and control" functions, will ensure that Japan has an asymmetric advantage during wartime. According to the National Defense Strategy, Japan will soon acquire practical capabilities in a wide range of missions involving unmanned equipment, especially in the underwater field. Long term goals include advanced capabilities in artificial intelligence and multi vehicle control.
▲ Japanese Ministry of Defense Information Images
The report states that the Defense Force Consolidation Plan is a supporting document of the National Defense Strategy, confirming a series of capabilities that the Japanese Self Defense Force hopes to possess. In the air, these capabilities include long-range carrier based drones and at least two types of combat drones. Japan plans to acquire unmanned surface and underwater vehicles both at sea and underwater. In addition, unmanned ground vehicles can help protect bases and critical facilities, while directed energy weapons will help Self Defense Forces resist drone attacks.
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According to the Defense Force Maintenance Plan, the final introduction of the new unmanned driving system will enable the Japan Ground Self Defense Force to establish a new unmanned aerial vehicle reconnaissance and strike force, and the Maritime Self Defense Force to establish two departments specifically responsible for unmanned equipment. Japan's investment in unmanned equipment may bring about changes in other organizations.
According to the overview of the 2023 fiscal year budget application released by the Japanese Ministry of Defense, Japan will spend 182.7 billion yen on unmanned equipment in the 2023 fiscal year starting from April. The Ministry of Defense described three research and development projects for various types of armed drones in its budget overview. In the "Deadlock Defense Capability" section of the overview, the Ministry of Defense has allocated funds to develop a tactical drone that will collect information on enemy advances and may carry out strikes. In addition, the Ministry of Defense has allocated 6.9 billion yen to purchase and evaluate "multi-purpose drone" projects that can collect intelligence and carry out strikes. In addition, 3 billion yen was allocated for a project to evaluate the types of cruise missiles.