Terra Drone Announces Successful Interception of Long-Range Suicide Drones 'Shahed' by Fixed-Wing Interceptor 'Terra A2'

Terra Drone Corporation (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Toru Tokushige; hereinafter "Terra Drone") announces the successful interception of long-range suicide attack drones 'Shahed' by its fixed-wing interceptor drone 'Terra A2', developed jointly with WinnyLab LLC (hereinafter "WinnyLab"), a Ukrainian defense tech company and investment partner of its subsidiary Terra Inspectioneering, under real operational conditions.

Amid growing global concerns over asymmetric defense costs—where relatively low-cost, mass-deployable Shahed-type suicide drones are countered with expensive defensive systems—Terra Drone positions "low-cost × combat-proven" as the core of its competitive advantage, advancing the development of sustainable next-generation air defense systems.

The confirmed multiple successful interceptions of 'Terra A2' under real combat conditions represent a crucial milestone, demonstrating the practical viability of fixed-wing interceptor drones for wide-area air defense.

Background

Currently, low-cost, long-range drones such as the Shahed, priced at approximately 5 million yen per unit, are launching mass attacks primarily in the Middle East and Ukraine, posing serious threats to critical infrastructure, urban areas, and civilian life. In recent years, countries including Russia, China, and North Korea have enhanced their mass production capabilities for drones, making drone threat response a critical security issue across the Asia-Pacific region as well. However, continuously countering these relatively inexpensive drone threats with high-cost interceptors priced in the hundreds of millions of yen raises concerns regarding defense expenditure and sustainability. Globally, there is increasing demand for new air defense infrastructure capable of sustainably addressing low-cost threats.

While the interceptor drone market is rapidly expanding, the number of companies worldwide that have demonstrated continuous interception success under real combat conditions remains extremely limited.

In recent years, in the international defense equipment market, "combat-proven" effectiveness—verified under actual battlefield conditions—has become critically important in equipment selection, as it directly impacts human life and national security, beyond just technical specifications or test environment results.

In real combat environments, factors such as GPS jamming, electronic warfare, communication disruption, and rapid specification changes occur—conditions that cannot be replicated in standard testing environments. Therefore, beyond nominal performance, whether a system "consistently functions in actual combat" significantly influences its reliability as defense equipment.

While opportunities for Japanese companies to validate defense technologies under real combat conditions are extremely rare, Terra Drone was among the first to initiate real-world operations. In April 2026, its rocket-type interceptor drone 'Terra A1' successfully intercepted long-range drone threats. The current success of 'Terra A2' under combat conditions follows this achievement.

Terra Drone will continue to combine technological and operational expertise with Japanese strengths in quality control, safety, stable operations, and supply chain management to advance the development of next-generation air defense systems that function reliably and sustainably in real combat environments.

Project Details

Terra Drone has been conducting operational evaluations of 'Terra A2' in collaboration with WinnyLab. This time, successful interceptions of long-range drone threats under real operational conditions have been confirmed.

The confirmed interception successes are not isolated incidents but demonstrate the continuous combat operational capability and reproducibility of fixed-wing interceptor drones. Combined with the previously announced success of 'Terra A1', this represents a solid advancement in Terra Drone’s defense business.

About 'Terra A2'

'Terra A2' achieves a maximum speed of 312 km/h, wide-area coverage of up to 75 km, and over 40 minutes of flight endurance through advanced aerodynamic design and holistic airframe optimization. Designed for integration with radar systems, it functions as a fixed-wing interception platform capable of end-to-end operations including wide-area surveillance, target detection, tracking, and interception. This enables a wide-area air defense layer that allows for preemptive action—"dealing with threats before they arrive"—as opposed to traditional defense systems focused primarily on short-range interception.

Furthermore, Terra Drone is building a layered defense (Layered Defense) system by combining the rocket-type interceptor 'Terra A1', already deployed and proven in interception, with the fixed-wing interceptor 'Terra A2'.

- Fixed-wing Terra A2: Frontline defense (wide-area surveillance, long-range interception, early response) - Rocket-type Terra A1: Final defense (rapid launch, immediate interception, close-range response, base protection)

This enables optimal selection of interception methods based on threat distance, speed, and approach path, aiming to realize a sustainable and highly advanced next-generation air defense system.

Future Outlook

Going forward, Terra Drone will advance the establishment of a business foundation compliant with regulations in various countries, as well as build a global supply system.

Additionally, the company will strengthen collaboration with governments and defense agencies in Japan, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific region to promote the development of sustainable air defense infrastructure.

As the interceptor drone market evolves with increasing specialization in short-, medium-, and long-range applications, Terra Drone aims to develop multi-layered solutions to realize new, low-cost, and sustainable defense systems.

The company will continue to deliver technologies that contribute to human life protection, critical infrastructure defense, and social function preservation, advancing the construction of sustainable security foundations and expanding business opportunities in the defense market.

Policy on Defense Business Development

Terra Drone has publicly disclosed its policies regarding defense business development. For details, please refer to:

Reference: https://terra-drone.net/26065

Financial Outlook (Impact on Earnings)

While this achievement is expected to contribute to the company’s long-term corporate value, its impact on the consolidated financial results for the fiscal year ending January 2027 is expected to be minimal at this stage. The company will promptly disclose any material developments in the future.

Inquiries Regarding This Project

Business Website: https://terra-defense.com/ Contact Form: https://terra-defense.com/ja/contact-ja/ Terra Drone Corporation, Defense Division, UAV Department, Contact: Morita Email: defense@terra-drone.co.jp TEL: 080-4329-7881