The Defense Agency plans to buy and to dispose an U.S.-made uninhabited surveillance plane in fiscal year 2007.

As for the unmanned reconnaissance plane, the research of the domestic production machine has already been advanced. However, the period of about ten years is expected to development. We want to do the missile defense system operation. We want to defend the solitary island in a Japanese each territory that much. Therefore, it was judged that it could do nothing but import it to dispose it as soon as possible. Expectation that purchase becomes several.

Predator (RQ-1 Predator) or Global Hawk (RQ-4 Global Hawk) is scheduled to be bought. Predator is cheap and the performance is also moderate. The price is high though Global Hawk is efficient. Importing U.S.-made , considering joint operation and the actual combat experience, etc. with the U.S.Army most. Whether it is possible to operate it firmly in the Self Defense Forces becomes a point of issue. However, this problem is not understood if not actually imported.