Amid a regional environment marked by China’s increasing military activity in the Indo-Pacific, Japan is seeking to strengthen its defense capabilities through a major expansion of unmanned systems. In this context, and within the defense budget for the year 2026, Japan’s Ministry of Defense announced the creation of a synchronized, hybrid, integrated, and enhanced littoral defense—known as SHIELD (Synchronized, Hybrid, Integrated and Enhanced Littoral Defense)—as one of the strategic priorities of its new military planning.
In this regard, the budget report states that the initiative aims to establish an asymmetric defense architecture based on unmanned systems—air, naval, and underwater—to reinforce response capabilities against threats in Japan’s maritime and coastal environment. The official document notes that the objective of SHIELD is to adapt to the rapid technological evolution and the growing use of autonomous platforms by foreign powers, emphasizing that “the nature of warfare has changed significantly with the proliferation of unmanned systems and the advancement of technological innovation in various countries.”
According to the budget, the SHIELD program will receive an investment of 128.7 billion yen (around USD 850 million) during fiscal year 2026, allocated to the development of unmanned aerial, surface, and underwater vehicles. Among the platforms included are the Small Attack UAV I, II, and III, ship-launched UAVs, unmanned surface vehicles (USVs), smaller unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), and new attack and reconnaissance drones designed to strengthen coastal surveillance and defense.
The Ministry of Defense also plans to introduce an early and simultaneous control system that will enable the joint operation of these various unmanned assets under a single command and control network. This approach will integrate the capabilities of the Ground, Maritime, and Air Self-Defense Forces (GSDF, MSDF, and ASDF), forming a layered coastal defense that combines surveillance, response, and strike capabilities in real time.
Currently, Japan maintains a diverse portfolio of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at different stages of operation, testing, and development as part of the ongoing modernization of its Self-Defense Forces. In the field of maritime and long-range surveillance, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) operates MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions over vast ocean areas. Likewise, in January 2025, the JMSDF selected the V-BAT drone from the U.S. company Shield AI as its future shipborne ISR platform, designed to operate from warships, although its delivery is still pending.
Finally, it is important to highlight that the implementation of SHIELD and the unmanned systems directly responds to the strategic environment Japan faces in the Indo-Pacific, characterized by China’s growing military activity and the increase in air and naval incursions near the archipelago. One of the most recent incidents took place in September, when Japanese and Taiwanese authorities reported the presence of drones and a Shaanxi Y-9 surveillance aircraft from China’s armed forces over the Miyako Strait. In recent years, the Self-Defense Forces have recorded an intensification of Chinese drone flights, reconnaissance aircraft, and naval patrols—particularly around the Senkaku Islands and the East China Sea, areas where Beijing maintains territorial claims.
For Tokyo, strengthening littoral defense not only seeks to ensure territorial security and deterrence against incursions within its areas of responsibility, but also to enhance its autonomous response capability in the face of potential contingencies.
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