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Japan to procure V-BAT UASs

By Oishee Majumdar |

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force is acquiring Shield AI's V-BAT small unmanned aircraft systems to enhance intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. (Shield AI)

US-based Shield AI has secured a contract to supply an undisclosed number of its V-BAT small unmanned aircraft systems (sUASs) to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF).

Shield AI announced the contract in a media release on 22 January. The company said, “[The V-BATs] will provide advanced ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] capabilities to JMSDF surface vessels, reinforcing Japan's defence posture and operational readiness in the Indo-Pacific region.”

The Japan Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 27 December 2024 that it will procure V-BATs to meet the growing ISR requirements of the JMSDF. The V-BATs will primarily be deployed on the JMSDF's “patrol vessels” and operated to monitor and gather intelligence of the surrounding areas to enhance the service's maritime domain awareness (MDA), the MoD said.

Japan's defence budget request for financial year 2025 allocates JPY3.7 billion (USD23.7 million) to acquire sUASs for the JMSDF.

According to Janes All the World's Aircraft: Unmanned, V-BAT is a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a length of 2.74 m, wingspan of 2.96 m, maximum take-off weight of 56.7 kg, and maximum payload capacity of around 11 kg. It has a maximum speed of 167 km/h and a range of 643 km.

In October 2023 Shield AI signed an agreement with Australia's Sentient Vision Systems to acquire Sentient's Visual Detection and Ranging (ViDAR) system for V-BATs. ViDAR will work along with Shield AI's Hivemind artificial intelligence (AI) software to enhance V-BAT's capabilities to intelligently classify, track, and read-and-react to targets in dynamic missions, the companies said.

Spokespersons for Shield AI and Sentient told Janes

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