#Drone

The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics has introduced FPV drone cameras for the first time in Olympic history. These 100mph first-person-view drones deliver breathtaking footage that makes viewers feel like they're racing alongside athletes, but the high-pitched buzzing has drawn comparisons to the 2010 World Cup vuvuzelas. Here's how Japan and the world are reacting to this broadcasting revolution.

A compact snow-removal drone developed in Hokkaido went viral during Tokyo's February 2026 snowstorm, racking up 240,000 views on social media. Startup everblue technologies adapted 6 years of water drone expertise to create a $6,500 unmanned snow plow designed to clear snow before it accumulates. Could this "tiny giant" revolutionize winter life in Japan's aging snow country?

Japanese startup AirX has signed a binding order with Brazil's Eve Air Mobility for two eVTOL "flying car" aircraft, with options to expand to 50 units in a deal potentially worth $150 million. Targeting 2029 for sightseeing and last-mile transport services in Tokyo and Osaka, this agreement marks a major milestone in Japan's push toward urban air mobility — following successful demo flights at Expo 2025 Osaka.

The US CCA program, China's loyal wingmen, and Japan's GCAP-linked combat drones. As nations race to develop AI-powered unmanned combat aircraft, we examine where Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Heavy Industries stand, and the structural challenges Japan's defense industry must overcome.

Japanese startup AirKamuy has developed a cardboard military drone priced at just $2,000—one-tenth the cost of conventional fixed-wing UAVs. The AirKamuy 150 assembles in 5 minutes, flies at 120 km/h for 2 hours, and is attracting attention from Japan's Ministry of Defense and Coast Guard. How is this disruptive innovation reshaping defense technology?

ANA Holdings has written a 2027 commercial launch for drone logistics into its mid-term strategy, aiming for nationwide operations by fiscal 2028. An Okinawa trial flew medicines 100 km from Itoman to Kumejima in 64 minutes. Here is what the 500-km hub plan involves, and what it still has to solve.