Japan

The Japanese Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Air Force have announced a joint research program on AI for UAVs to operate alongside crewed fighters.

Rocket Lab has received a $489 million contract to design, build and operate 18 space vehicles on behalf of an undisclosed U.S. government customer.

Japan’s SkyDrive has signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on heavy-lift drones with the Technology Innovation Hub on Autonomous Navigation.

Japan will reportedly transfer an unspecified number of MIM-104 Patriot missiles to the U.S.

The U.S., Japan and South Korean militaries have activated a missile data sharing system to track and disseminate North Korean missile information in real time.

Italy, Japan and the UK's Global Combat Air Program developing a sixth-generation crewed combat aircraft will be headquartered in London, the nations say.

The three partners are initially focused on metropolitan areas like Tokyo, but eventually aim to expand eVTOL operations across Japan.

While Hawaii is a bright spot, Japan’s overall international demand recovery has been significantly behind many other Asian markets.

The entire Bell Boeing V-22 fleet has been grounded.

The U.S. Air Force has shifted search operations for the remaining missing crewmembers of a V-22 that crashed near Japan into a recovery mission.

Japan has grounded its fleet of six MV-22s in response to the crash and Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said that the U.S. military should take the same action.

Aligned with its vision of attaining standoff counterstrike capabilities, Japan is now set to acquire 400 Raytheon Tomahawk cruise missiles.

An industry team has been awarded the next phase of a project to develop a concept of operations for advanced air mobility for the Japan Civil Aviation Burea..

SkyDrive and Kansai Electric Power Co. have jointly developed charging equipment for electric-vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft.

Japanese automaker Subaru has unveiled a concept for an eVTOL air mobility vehicle at the Japan Mobility Show 2023 in Tokyo.

SkyDrive of Japan has formed a production subsidiary to build its electric SD-05 eVTOL aircraft at a Suzuki Motor company manufacturing plant starting in 2024.

The company says the trials are an “important step” as the AAM industry prepares to introduce eVTOL aircraft.

Japan’s space startups—and their U.S. subsidiaries—are playing a prominent role in several U.S. Space Force and NASA missions.

Malaysia’s largest oil refiner Petronas and Japanese petroleum company Idemitsu have signed a memorandum of understanding.

Astroscale Japan has received an $80 million grant from the Japanese government to “image and diagnose” a large, defunct satellite.

The new cargo terminal at Tokyo Narita Airport will be leased to All Nippon Airways.

A policy review document released this week shows it will take seven years to complete.

Industry partners in the three-nation Global Combat Air Program have reached a further collaboration agreement.

Japanese carrier Skymark Airlines is continuing to benefit from strong domestic demand, although this was not enough to fully offset the carrier’s rising costs.

The U.S.-Japan partnership is reportedly intended to counter growing threats of hypersonic missile technology from China, North Korea and Russia.