• ACSL’s domestic drone has been adopted as an aerial photography drone by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force of the Ministry of Defense.
• As a domestic drone manufacturer offering domestically produced secure drones, ACSL will focus on Japanese government procurement, where economic security and de-Chinese products can leverage its strengths.

ACSL Ltd. (ACSL) hereby announce that ACSL’s domestic drone has been adopted as an aerial photography drone by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force of the Ministry of Defense. ACSL will focus on Japanese government procurement in the field of small aerial photography in Japan, where it has clear economic security and Non-Chinese products where it can leverage its strengths. ACSL has been selected for this project, following the announcement on March 12, 2024 in the Notice Concerning Large Project Orders” that was accompanied by a bid conducted by the Defense Equipment Agency, an external agency of the Ministry of Defense.

ACSL’s Made-in-Japan drones

■Background

The environment surrounding the drone market is characterized by the introduction of robotics, including drones, to make operations more efficient and unmanned, as well as the growing recognition of the usefulness of drones as a means of decarbonization and EVs, and their use is expanding worldwide. In addition, in recent years, drone-related initiatives for economic security and security are being promoted at the national level in the U.S., India, Australia, Japan, and other countries in response to the trend toward greater emphasis on economic security.

In Japan, the “Policy on Procurement of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles by Government Agencies, etc.” was announced in September 2020, and the government announced its policy to “limit procurement to drones with guaranteed security” and “promptly replace existing drones” ^※.

Against this backdrop, ACSL is focusing on its core technology of autonomous control technology, which is the brain of drones, and developing industrial drones that use this technology, in order to provide domestically produced, highly secure drones, and to have its products adopted for government procurement where it can demonstrate this strength.

The aerial photography required by the Air Self-Defense Force are expected to utilize drones due to their wide range, urgency, and potentially dangerous nature, and ACSL’s drones have been selected as domestically produced secure drones.

ACSL will continue to develop industrial drones and promote their implementation in society to support people involved in various fields such as infrastructure inspection, disaster prevention/disaster management, surveying, and agriculture, which are facing various challenges such as manpower shortage, work efficiency improvement, and replacement of dangerous tasks.

※Policy on the Procurement of Unmanned Aircraft by Government Agencies, etc.,” September 14, 2020, Liaison Conference of Relevant Ministries and Agencies Concerning Small Unmanned Aircraft.

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