Japan's defense white paper puts cheap combat drones at the center and hands the work to startups

Tokyo's 598-page annual defense paper names drones and AI as the warfare Japan must adapt to, and routes the buildup through startups and dual-use suppliers rather than its incumbent primes.

Japan's Cabinet adopted a 598-page defense white paper on Tuesday that calls low-cost combat drones essential and tells the country to adapt to "new ways of warfare" drawn from Ukraine and the Middle East, AP reported. The paper again names China as Japan's biggest strategic challenge, citing Chinese warship activity in the Pacific and a December incident in which Chinese aircraft locked radars on Japanese planes.

The procurement machinery is already moving. Japan's Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency picked four drone makers from 38 applicants for a rapid development program, with navy testing due in early August before a final selection, per AP. Toshiba said Friday it will jointly develop combat drones with the startup Pro Drone. Tokyo wants domestic airframes for coastal defense, paired with the long-range cruise missiles it has begun deploying.