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Japan has approved the mass production of a domestically developed 3D-printed interceptor drone as Tokyo moves to rapidly strengthen its ability to defend against growing unmanned threats.

Japan’s Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency (ATLA), the defense-procurement agency, has signed a procurement agreement for Terra Drone’s Terra B1, a rocket-launched interceptor designed to destroy one-way attack drones and other loitering unmanned systems.

The decision follows competitive trials conducted in July and represents an unusually rapid procurement process for Japan. The government launched the tender in late May and selected the Terra B1 roughly three months later.

ATLA has not disclosed the number of drones being purchased or the value of the contract. Terra Drone is expected to begin mass production, with deliveries planned for around September. The Maritime Self-Defense Force is expected to receive the system first.

The speed of the acquisition reflects Japan’s growing focus on drones and counter-drone technologies, particularly as the war in Ukraine has demonstrated how quickly unmanned systems can evolve and how important large-scale, low-cost production can become in modern warfare.

Rapid Shift in Procurement

Japan’s defense ministry issued its tender in May as it sought a system capable of intercepting one-way attack drones such as the Iranian-designed Shahed family and anti-radar loitering munitions such as the Israeli-made IAI Harpy.

ATLA evaluated proposals from 38 companies before narrowing the field to four finalists for trials. They included Terra Drone’s Terra B1, Beyond Vision’s BVQ404, Quantum Systems’ QS Interceptor and DZYNE Technologies’ IonStrike. The Terra B1 was the only system selected following the trials, according to Terra Drone.

The process was notably faster than Japan’s traditional defense procurement procedures. Previous competitive bids for military systems have often taken one to two years, while the latest drone acquisition was completed in roughly three months. Industry officials described the process as unprecedented.

Jeffrey Hornung, Japan lead at the RAND Corporation’s National Security Research Division, said he was surprised by how quickly the acquisition had progressed. He said that after more than two decades of following Japanese defense acquisitions, he could not recall another system moving through the process at a similar speed.

The approach could give Japan greater flexibility as it faces rapidly changing unmanned technologies.

Learning from Ukraine

The development of the Terra B1 has also been influenced by experience from the war in Ukraine, where inexpensive drones have become a central part of battlefield operations.

Terra Drone’s earlier Terra A1 system has been used in Ukraine to counter long-range attack drones. The Japanese company has also acquired stakes in two Ukrainian interceptor-drone companies, giving it direct exposure to a rapidly changing battlefield environment.

The war has demonstrated that traditional air-defense systems can face difficult cost and availability problems when used against relatively inexpensive drones.

A conventional interceptor missile can cost far more than the drone it is designed to destroy. This creates a difficult economic problem when an attacker can launch large numbers of relatively cheap unmanned systems. Japan is therefore looking for a more economical way to counter such threats.

The Terra B1 is intended to provide another layer of defense against these systems, while its relatively simple and adaptable design could allow Japan to increase production more quickly than would be possible with more complex weapon systems.

Masashi Murano, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, said Japan had lacked a cost-effective interceptor for unmanned systems. He cautioned that the Terra B1 alone would not completely change the balance, but said it could help address new threats.

3D Printing for Faster Production

One of the most important features of the program is the use of 3D printing. Terra Drone Chief Executive Toru Tokushige said the technology could simplify and shorten the design and prototyping process, allowing the company to move more quickly toward mass production.

The approach could also help the company modify the interceptor as threats change. Drone warfare is developing rapidly, with new platforms, tactics and countermeasures appearing in short periods of time.

A production system that allows components and designs to be changed without restarting a lengthy manufacturing process could give military planners greater flexibility.

Tokushige said the value of 3D printing went beyond reducing manufacturing costs, arguing that it could help create a faster, more flexible and more resilient defense-production model for Japan.

The technology could also support Japan’s ability to produce larger numbers of relatively inexpensive unmanned systems without relying entirely on traditional manufacturing methods.

Terra Drone is also considering a distributed manufacturing model. Instead of relying on a single production facility, the company plans to spread production across multiple locations and eventually expand to local networks of 3D printers, sometimes described as printing farms.

The goal is to reduce the risk that an attack on one manufacturing facility could disrupt the entire production chain.

Tokushige said that even if one production site were attacked by a Shahed-type drone, a distributed manufacturing model could reduce the risk of a wider disruption to the supply chain.

This concept reflects another major lesson from Ukraine: defense production itself can become a target during wartime.

A distributed network could make it more difficult for an adversary to stop production by attacking a small number of key industrial facilities. It could also allow damaged or disrupted manufacturing capacity to be replaced more quickly.

3D printing has already become part of military logistics in several countries. The U.S. Army and Navy began deploying printers in the field in 2012, while Ukraine has developed extensive networks for producing drone components and other battlefield equipment.

Japan’s Changing Defense Priorities

The new interceptor program comes as Japan places greater emphasis on unmanned systems in its defense planning.

Japan’s latest defense white paper identified unmanned systems as part of the “new ways of warfare” for which the country must prepare. It also described China’s external stance and military activities as Japan’s “greatest strategic challenge” and highlighted Beijing’s accelerating development of AI-enabled unmanned systems.

Tokyo is seeking technologies that can be introduced quickly rather than waiting for lengthy traditional procurement cycles. The Terra B1 program could therefore be important not only because of the interceptor itself, but because it demonstrates a willingness to experiment with a faster approach to acquiring emerging technologies.

Murano described the new procurement process as a groundbreaking step, arguing that modern military forces need systems that can be produced at scale while remaining adaptable as adversaries develop new countermeasures.

He also emphasized the importance of maintaining a rapid cycle between battlefield lessons, weapons development, tactics and operational concepts.

Questions Remain over the Model

Despite the speed of the Terra B1 acquisition, analysts caution that Japan may not be able to apply the same three-month process to every future weapon program.

A source familiar with the procurement process said the requirements for the tender were narrowly defined, creating the impression that the competition may have been particularly suited to the Terra B1.

Murano also questioned whether the government could move as quickly if it encountered a genuinely new and unforeseen military challenge.

Yoshihiro Inaba, a defense expert and Japan correspondent for Naval News, said the rapid procurement model was particularly suitable for counter-drone systems and relatively inexpensive unmanned aircraft.

More sophisticated weapons, however, require greater engineering expertise, technology, manpower and funding, making it unlikely that every type of weapon could be developed and manufactured within such a short period.

Hornung similarly warned against treating the Terra B1 program as a model for all future Japanese defense acquisitions. At the same time, he said the process established an important precedent for emerging technologies and showed that Japan was becoming more willing to accept greater risk in order to field new capabilities faster.

For Japan, that change could prove increasingly important as unmanned warfare continues to evolve. The Terra B1 will not by itself solve Japan’s wider air-defense challenges. But the combination of rapid procurement, domestic production, 3D printing and lessons drawn from Ukraine points toward a broader shift in how Japan approaches emerging military technologies.

The immediate objective is to counter drones more cheaply and quickly. The longer-term significance may be the creation of a defense industry capable of adapting and producing at a much faster pace as the security environment changes.