Japan Close Range Air Defense System
Planned Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force close-range air defence combining missiles, cannon and lasers.
Japan's fiscal 2027 defence budget request, published on 31 August 2026, lists development of the Close Range Air Defense System as an item with no yen figure attached.
Last refreshed: 1 October 2026
Timeline for Japan Close Range Air Defense System
Mentioned in: Japan requests 17 MQ-9B drones for 2027
Drones: Industry & DefenceBackground
The Close Range Air Defense System (CRADS) is a short-range air defence system that Japan's Ministry of Defense wants to develop for the Ground Self-Defense Force. The ministry describes a mix of guided missiles, cannon and lasers to deal efficiently with air threats, including cheap drones launched in large numbers. Press reports describe it as vehicle-mounted.
CRADS is Tokyo's planned answer to drone swarms at close range and low cost. In the fiscal 2027 request it sits beside a high-power microwave counter-drone demonstrator, and neither anti-swarm item carries a price yet.
Budget requests are not final: Japan's cabinet and the Diet decide the sums, so CRADS remains a development line rather than a funded programme.