Japanese ecommerce giant Rakuten teams up with German startup to build military drones
- Rakuten is helping Helsing navigate Japan's complicated military procurement system
- Helsing's HX-2 strike drone is already undergoing trials with Japan's military
- Japan's expanding defence budget is attracting overseas military technology companies
Rakuten has revealed it is now working with German defense AI startup Helsing to bring the company's military drones into Japan.
The Tokyo-based ecommerce and finance conglomerate is acting as the local broker between Helsing and Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force.
Field tests of Helsing's HX-2 strike drone began earlier this year and will run through the end of September 2026.
Rakuten's role in the deal
Helsing says it reached an "initial agreement" for the Japanese government to use its systems earlier in 2026, brokered through an unnamed local partner.
That partner was Rakuten, according to Nikkei, which first reported the tie-up between the two companies.
Rakuten has little defense industry experience of its own, but it wants to...
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