Arab News Japan

TOKYO: The Japanese government says it is spending 9.9 billion yen (approximately $64 million) to evaluate unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), with several of the contracts going to Israeli companies.

Previous reports suggested that the Japanese and Israeli governments had reached an agreement on the joint development of drones for military use. 

The Ministry of Defense revealed that Japan’s Defense Development Plan is looking to acquire multi-purpose UAV and small-scale attack UAVs for the purposes of searching, identifying, and “responding quickly to targets from the air.”

A Ministry official told Arab News Japan that, “In the budget for FY2023, approximately 9.9 billion yen was allocated for verification testing of multi-purpose UAVs and small attack UAVs and thus contracts were made. In five of these contracts, actual UAVs used for verification are products of Israel.”

The official said evaluation of drone capabilities was ongoing but refused to admit that any agreement had been made with Israel beyond the evaluation contracts that aim “to consider what specific performances are required for future model selections.”

“At this point, we do not predict the purchase of drones from any particular country,” the official said.

In other defense news, the Ministry revealed that it will spend 2.71 billion yen (approximately $17 million) on work to improve the working environment and living environment of Japan’s defense forces operating in Djibouti. The money will help to renew aging living quarters and office buildings.