Japan fast-tracks anti-drone system amid China’s military build-up

Tokyo is experimenting with a radically faster way of buying new weapons – picking a domestically built interceptor drone less than three months after launching the procurement process.The defence ministry’s Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency (ATLA) announced on Tuesday that it had signed a contract to buy Terra Drone’s Terra B1 system following competitive trials.The decision marks the first time the ministry has used its rapid-acquisition approach to acquire drones. ATLA described the roughly three-month process as “unprecedented”.Terra Drone said the B1 was the only system to pass the trials and that it would begin mass production. Delivery is planned for around September, with the Maritime Self-Defence Force expected to receive the system first.The Tokyo-based company has drawn on experience from Ukraine, where other systems in its portfolio have been used to counter long-range attack drones. It has also acquired stakes in two Ukrainian interceptor-drone companies.