Japan’s Defense Minister met with the team behind a company that builds military drones out of cardboard, signaling where Tokyo believes the future of unmanned systems is heading.
Shinjiro Koizumi, Japan’s Defense Minister, held a meeting with representatives from Air Kamui, a startup known for producing cardboard drones. After the meeting, the minister shared details about the exchange on his social media, according to a report by Defence Blog.
The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force already uses Air Kamui drones as aerial targets, confirming that the platform has met at least the basic threshold of military utility and is operating in an active service role, although its current scope remains limited.
Despite being made of cardboard, Air Kamui drones offer significant value to defense forces. They present a low-cost, lightweight, biodegradable, and rapidly scalable alternative, making them well-suited for target drone applications—missions where using more expensive equipment is simply not viable.
With this in mind, a drone that costs a fraction of a conventional unmanned platform, can be produced in large quantities, and performs its mission effectively before being destroyed fits perfectly into the target drone role. The adoption of the platform by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force for this purpose suggests that the Japanese military has reached the same conclusion.
Photo: Japan’s Defense Minister. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
