Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (TYO: 7011) and NEC (TYO: 6701) have signed a memorandum of understanding to form an alliance in the defence sector, Jiji Press reports.
The tie-up brings together Japan's biggest maker of defence hardware and one of its main military software suppliers at a time when Tokyo is expanding military spending and pushing into unmanned systems, a shift driven by lessons drawn from recent conflicts where cheap drones have reshaped battlefields.
The two companies said on September 3 that they would examine cooperation on the development of equipment and systems for "new ways of warfare" using artificial intelligence and drones, according to Jiji Press. They plan to put proposals to the Japanese Defence Ministry as early as fiscal 2027, which begins next April.
Mitsubishi Heavy is Japan's largest manufacturer of defence equipment, producing vessels and fighter jets. NEC supplies the ministry with a command and control system.
The two firms are expected to work jointly on a system that integrates AI into the operation of drones and unmanned ships.
In its annual defence white paper published last month, the ministry said it would speed up preparations for the use of drones and the military application of AI.
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