Japan’s $60B defense budget request seeks funding for coastal defense network, more F-35s

MELBOURNE — Japan’s Ministry of Defense has submitted its budget request for the 2026 fiscal year, with plans to build a multilayered drone network for littoral warfare as well as the development of a submarine-launched missile.

The budget request released today calls for $59.9 billion (8.8 trillion yen) and continues a trend of year-on-year increases in recent years as tensions in the Indo-Pacific continue to ramp up.

The key item in the MoD’s budget request document was the announcement of Japan’s Synchronized, Hybrid, Integrated and Enhanced Littoral Defense (SHIELD), a multilayered littoral defense system utilizing unmanned systems across multiple domains.

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These include different classes of ship- and ground-launched Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) for short-, medium-, and long-range reconnaissance and strike missions, along with unmanned surface and underwater vehicles.

Japan’s budget request is seeking 128.7 billion yen for the program, with the ship-launched systems expected to be utilized from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) ships, such as the dozen 1,900-ton offshore patrol vessels that Japan is building.

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The Japanese budget request for the coming fiscal year also includes several systems from the US, including more Lockheed-Martin F-35 Lighting II fifth-generation fighter jets and KC-46 tankers. This includes funding for an additional nine F-35A Conventional Take Off and Landing aircraft and three F-35B Short Take Off Vertical Landing (STOVL) jets for 138.7 billion and 665 million yen respectively.

Japan plans to eventually acquire 105 F-35As and 42 F-35Bs, with 303 Squadron of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) having recently started transitioning to the F-35A, the third squadron to do so.

The budget request also revealed that Japan will stand up a 202 Squadron to receive its F-35Bs, with the first aircraft having arrived in Japan in early August. The STOVL aircraft will also operate from Japan’s two Izumo-class helicopter-destroyers, with both ships currently undergoing refits to enable them to host the jets.

A request for 912 million yen to acquire two more Boeing KC-46A Pegasus tanker aircraft will bring Japan’s fleet to eight aircraft, with the US State Department having already cleared Japan to acquire 13 KC-46As.

The MoD’s budget will now go to Japan’s Ministry of Finance for approval, which will be announced with Japan’s overall government budget sometime early next year.