The Japanese company Terra Drone and Japan’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) announced the conclusion of a contract for the purchase of Terra B1 interceptor drones, as well as their subsequent mass production.
This contract was concluded after the demonstrations. As Terra Drone writes, Terra B1 had been selected from proposals submitted by 38 companies.
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Judging by everything, the Terra B1 is an improved version of the Terra A1 interceptor drone, which was already known earlier. The Terra A1 itself, as is known, was created jointly with the Ukrainian companies Amazing Drones and WinnyLab, and was tested in Ukraine in the Chernihiv region, where it shot down russia’s Shahed-type UAVs.
The characteristics of the Terra B1 were not announced, but the specifications of the Terra A1 are known. So, it has a range of up to 32 kilometers, a flight duration of up to 15 minutes, a flight speed of up to 302 km/h, as well as a warhead weighing 500-650 grams.
It is reported that the first Terra B1 interceptor drones will enter service with the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, and may later expand to operational needs within the Air Self-Defense Force and Ground Self-Defense Force.
It has already been reported that interceptor drones should be deployed in Japan as early as 2027, where they will primarily cover radar stations, ships, military bases, and other critically important facilities. For Japan, it is simply vital to have such interceptor drones.
The fact is that in the event of a full-scale war between China, the United States, and other countries, Japan will obviously also be drawn into this conflict. China, in turn, has a lot of strike drones similar to the Shahed/Geran strike drones that russia is actively using in its war against Ukraine.
As is more importantly, Chinese counterparts, according to available data, are many times cheaper than Shahed-type drones, and given China's gigantic industrial capabilities, they can obviously be produced in extremely large quantities. Therefore, to counter such an armada of drones, it is important to build air defenses now that can effectively, cheaply, and massively combat drone attacks.
As Defense Express reported earlier, Ukraine Added First Interceptor to Counter russian Jet-Powered Shahed Drones
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