Ministry of Defense budget request includes use of AI and development of underwater hypersonic guided missiles

The Ministry of Defense's initial budget request for fiscal year 2027, released on August 31, includes measures for ``new ways of fighting,'' such as the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for command and control of the Self-Defense Forces and the development of attack drones capable of long-range flight. As three security-related documents are scheduled to be revised at the end of the year, many of the major items are "requirements" that do not specify monetary amounts.

In response to the ``new way of fighting'' in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, etc., we have included the introduction of a decision-making support system that utilizes AI to the command and control of the ``Joint Operations Command (JJOC),'' which centrally commands the three Self-Defense Forces of the Army, Navy, and Air Force.

The US military has introduced the Maven Smart System from US data analysis company Palantir Technologies. Japan also plans to proceed with the development as soon as possible by utilizing existing overseas technology.

At the same time, the company plans to promote the development of domestically produced products and replace them with overseas technologies in the future. According to multiple government officials, the AI ​​company Sakana AI (Tokyo) is a candidate.

In order to advance the use of AI, we will proceed with the introduction of the Ministry of Defense Cloud, which uses a private cloud and handles highly confidential information. Both are requirements.

Underwater-launched hypersonic guided missiles

We will also proceed with the introduction of missiles capable of attacking enemy bases (counterattack capabilities). In order to strengthen the long-range "stand-off defense capability" of attacking the enemy from outside of its range, Japan will begin developing a new underwater-launched hypersonic guided missile. The aim is to effectively respond by launching hypersonic guided missiles with high penetration power from submarines and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), whose actions are highly concealed.

In Ukraine and the Middle East, cheap...