Daisuke Sato

Daisuke Sato oversees coverage of Asia with a focus on Japan and China. As Section Editor, he is responsible for curating regional news, verifying sources, and delivering sharp insight into military developments across the Indo-Pacific. His expertise strengthens our reporting from one of the most strategically contested regions in the world.

Japan to build drone-based coastal defense system

Japan’s Defense Ministry plans to establish a new coastal defense system built around thousands of drones, allocating about ¥100 billion ($628.7 million) in its fiscal 2026 budget. The planned SHIELD system will include more than 10 types of...

Kawasaki develops collaborative drone system

Big Japanese defense manufacturer Kawasaki Heavy Industries has confirmed that it is studying the development of two types of collaborative unmanned aircraft, including a missile-like system and an aircraft-type platform. According to comments by Hiroyoshi Shimokawa, president of...

Mitsubishi Heavy integrates Hivemind AI into drone

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries confirmed it has successfully conducted flight demonstrations of AI-powered mission autonomy for unmanned aerial vehicles, using the Hivemind Enterprise development environment from U.S.-based Shield AI. According to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the full development cycle—from AI...

Japan tests new EC-2 electronic warfare aircraft

The Japan Air Self-Defense Force confirmed it supported the first flight of a new stand-off electronic warfare aircraft, known as the EC-2, developed in cooperation with the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency. The development comes as Japan moves...

Taiwan military tests drone strike tactics in urban training

Taiwan’s Army carried out a drone combat training exercise on March 10, 2026, with the 58th Artillery Command’s unmanned aerial vehicle battalion conducting advanced operations using first-person-view attack drones in a simulated urban battlefield. The exercise introduced a...

China reveals two new Type 055 super destroyers

Two newly built Type 055 large destroyers, identified as hull 109 Dongguan and hull 110 Anqing, made their first official appearance during naval training operations, increasing the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s fleet of the 10,000-ton-class warships from...

China signals push for military aircraft exports

A report published by the Chinese newspaper Global Times says China is seeking to expand exports of military aircraft following what the publication described as the first combat success of the export-oriented J-10CE fighter jet during an...

Singapore buys Gulfstream G550 surveillance aircraft for maritime security

Singapore’s Ministry of Defence on Feb. 27 announced plans for the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) to acquire three Gulfstream G550 Maritime Surveillance Aircraft to enhance early warning capabilities against maritime threats, Defence Minister Chan Chun...