The Japanese cabinet has approved the purchase of six V-BAT unmanned aerial vehicles as part of the defense budget proposal for fiscal 2025.
An amount of 4 billion yen ($25 million) has been allocated for the purchase to enhance the surveillance and intelligence-gathering capabilities of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s surface vessels.
The Shield AI vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drones will be deployed on the service’s patrol vessels planned for acquisition, according to The Diplomat.
Meanwhile, Tokyo approved 8.7 trillion yen ($55.1 billion) in defense spending for the next fiscal year on Friday, a rise of 9.4 percent, or $4.8 billion, compared to the current fiscal year.
It marks record high defense spending for 11 years in a row as Tokyo continues its defense buildup against expanding Chinese military capability.
V-BAT
The V-BAT platform is designed to take off and land in high winds, on crowded flight decks, and aboard moving vessels with landing zones as small as 12 x 12 inches (30 x 30 centimeters).
Its ducted fan design allows 80 percent higher thrust than other VTOL drones with equivalent engine power.
Thrust vectoring provides greater control to operate in harsh weather and the duct enhances safety.
Features
The drone can fly non-stop for ten hours and has a service ceiling of 20,000 feet (6,100 meters).
It has a gross weight of 125 pounds (57 kilograms), including 25 pounds (11.3 kilograms) of payload, and can fly at up to 56 miles (90 kilometers) per hour.
The V-BAT can be installed with a range of interchangeable and customizable payloads and sensors such as electro-optical/medium-wave infrared cameras, an automatic identification system, and land/maritime wide area search AI-based capabilities.
