Japan Military Made Variant Series Helicopter UAV By Yamaha

R-50 UAV, RMAX UAV, RMAX-II UAV (Yamaha), YH300, AYH-3 (Yanmar) and RPH2 (FHI) Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are often associated with clandestine military operations. In Japan, however, unmanned helicopters for spraying of agricultural chemicals are more the norm in the domestic market. Currently, 2005 such helicopters are operative for crop dusting 663,000 hectares of rice paddies and fields of other crops. Labor saving efficiencies for the shrinking farming population contribute to the growth trends of the use of unmanned helicopters.

In addition to the agricultural application, Japan Defense Agency (JDA) plans to introduce UAVs as part of the missile defense system as part of the Mid-Term Defense Program (FY2005-FY2009). It is reported that the potential introduction of the U.S. Global Hawk and other models will be considered and compared with the benefits of the domestically producing UAVs in the coming years. New-to-entry U.S. suppliers of UAVs and related technology are advised to seek industry partners knowledgeable of domestic needs and constraints regarding UAV market opportunities.

RMAX-II UAV

On August 10, 2005, the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) troops stationed in Samawah, Iraq, temporarily suspended their operations for Iraqi reconstruction assistance due to local unrest. To cope with this unrest – without a show of force the GSDF launched an unmanned helicopter patrol in response to the repeated incidents of rocket and mortar fire aimed at the Japanese troops. A year earlier, the Japanese government took steps to deploy unmanned patrol helicopters in Iraq, marking a first time deployment of UAVs for Japan in an active combat zone.

RMAX-II UAV

In Japan, unmanned helicopters were initially developed for agricultural pest control as an efficient labor saving technique for Japan’s shrinking farming population. Government and private initiatives resulted in the first commercialization of unmanned agricultural helicopters in 1991. This initial deployment was capable of covering approximately 6,000 hectare of farmland. The GSDF unmanned patrol helicopters remodeled with night vision cameras were commercially available unmanned helicopters actually manufactured for the use of spraying agricultural chemicals.

R-50 UAV

According to Nosuikyo - a trade association affiliated with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) as of March 2005, the total farming area under unmanned helicopter-operated crop dusting had expanded to 663,000 hectares, with the number of registered helicopters at 2005 units and the number of operators at 10,719 persons. Both the area and the number of operators for unmanned helicopter-operated pest control have shown 10% to 20% annual growth in recent years. The per-unit coverage now averages 331 hectare annually.

UAVs have been a hot R&D topic in the Japanese defense community. Japan Defense Agency (JDA) noted in its 2005 Defense White Paper the growing importance of UAVs in military operations, citing the advantages of deploying UAVs for intelligence gathering in the enemycontrolled area, extended hours of operations in the inhumanly harsh environments, and for emergency tasks, such as observing erupting volcanoes, in natural disaster surroundings.

YH300 HELICOPTER UAV BY YAMAHA

JDA notes that there are currently about 80 models of UAVs in operation in about 40 countries, including Japan. At the high-end, are the U.S. Global Hawk, Predator and Eagle Eye. Of the short-range types, are the Israeli Hermes 1500, Hunter and the U.S. Fire Scout. Japan lists a high-altitude stationary UAV, a multi-purpose small-sized medium-range UAV, a UAV research system, a short-range new UAV patrol system and a compact-range FFOS UAV as indigenous models.

In the Mid-Term Defense Program (FY2005-2009), JDA is planning to introduce UAVs as part of the missile defense system. As a preliminary step, a survey will be proposed in the next fiscal year on the potential introduction of the U.S. Global Hawk and other models and as well as a budget for R&D on communications and other systems required for UAVs. The U.S. Global Hawk flies at the altitude of approximately 20,000 meters, staying aloft for over 35 hours. It is estimated to cost $46 million to $56 million per unit. At the same time, the Technical Research & Development Institute (TRDI) of JDA has, since FY2003, been conducting the basic research on domestic production of UAVs for about $22 million (according to the Yomiuri Shimbum, August 22, 2005).

Similarly, in its FY2006 budget proposal, JDA plans to conduct a survey on operations of UAVs in Australia and other countries that are preparing to introduce UAVs in military operations, prior to conducting their assessment of UAVs. No procurement of imported UAVs is planned yet. JDA continues its R&D at the TRDI on materials and components, including a wind tunnel experiment of an extremely elongated main wing in preparations for possible development of UAVs domestically (according to Wing, September 7, 2005).