Rakuten Group is acting as the Japan-side intermediary for Helsing’s HX-2 strike drone as Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force carries out field tests through the end of September. The effort puts the German defence-AI company’s loitering munition into the Japanese procurement process, with Rakuten helping to connect Helsing to the local market while the Defence Ministry evaluates the system.
The HX-2 is an AI-enabled strike drone designed to identify targets without continuous data connectivity. Helsing has already reached an initial agreement in Japan through an unnamed local brokerage partner, and the current testing phase will help determine whether the system advances towards adoption. Neither company has disclosed the number of units involved or the value of any potential order.
The arrangement is one of Helsing’s first notable defence-market partnerships in Asia-Pacific and an unusual step for Rakuten, which is better known for e-commerce, telecommunications and financial services. Japan has been modernising its defences amid regional security concerns, including pressure from China, and is examining small expendable attack UAVs as part of that effort.