Interceptor drones for Ukraine: Russia summons Japanese ambassador over Terra Drone investment

An investment of "only" 7.3 million euros in interceptor drones by a Japanese drone manufacturer has had consequences for Japan's ambassador in Moscow. Akira Muto, Japan's ambassador to Russia, was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow. This was made public by Maria Zakharova, Russian diplomat and spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Russia considers the listed company Terra Defense's investment in Ukrainian start-up Amazing Drones "openly hostile". According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the agreement harms Russia's security. Because of the "unfriendly policy" of the new Japanese government, bilateral relations have fallen to a historic low in Moscow's view. Terra Drone Corporation's share price then rose by 11.6 per cent, reaching its highest level since last July.

Background: on 31 March, Toru Tokushige, CEO of Terra Drone, Maxim Klimenko, CEO of the Ukrainian company Amazing Drones LLC, and representatives of the Brave1 defence cluster announced a strategic partnership. The aim is to produce Terra A1 interceptor drones on a large scale.

Distributed production instead of large factories

What matters most to Toru Tokushige is Ukrainian know-how in decentralising and scaling drone production. The CEO of Terra Drone explains it as follows:

If you build a large factory complex in the conventional way, it immediately becomes an easy target […] Ukrainian engineers already have extensive experience in decentralising production and working under constant threat. We are actively learning from them.— Toru Tokushige, CEO of Terra Drone

The company currently rejects building large factories. Instead, it is examining a distributed production model developed by Ukrainian specialists during the war, which significantly reduces vulnerability to missile and drone attacks.

At the same time, Terra Drone wants to bring Japanese engineers and production specialists to Ukraine. The Terra A1 interceptor drone is to be used against Shahed, Geran-2, Gerbera and other drones.

Interceptor drones in competition: what the Terra A1 can do

The company itself describes the Terra A1 as a "highly mobile interceptor designed for rapid deployment, immediate launch and high-speed interception manoeuvres at short range".

Externally, the drone differs only marginally from other interceptor drones in its class: the fuselage is wedge-shaped, and four pusher propellers are arranged in an X shape. There is also a small wing providing lift and stability in turns, as well as four stabilising fins at the tail. The position of the camera is striking – on the fuselage at the level of the X-wings. This leaves open what is hidden under the nose.

Stated figures are a speed of up to 300 km/h and a range of up to 32 kilometres; the maximum flight time is said to be around 15 minutes. Terra Drone's video highlights the high acceleration: after just 30 seconds, the Terra A1 is 750 metres high, 550 metres from the launch site and travelling at 100 km/h.

Competition in the interceptor drone sector is currently fierce: around 20 manufacturers in Ukraine are vying with each other under high pressure to innovate. It emerged only in recent days that the European Union is supporting twelve Ukrainian companies through the EU4UA funding programme with up to 150,000 euros each to develop solutions for protecting Ukrainian airspace.