(MENAFN) For the first time, the Japanese army is carrying out a live-fire training exercise focused on drone interception in the United States, as part of the Rising Thunder joint drill with the US Army. The exercise involves 440 personnel from Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) and 500 US Army members.

The training runs from Oct. 27 to Nov. 12 at the Yakima Training Center in Washington state, a site far larger than Tokyo’s 23 wards. This marks the GSDF’s inaugural live-fire anti-drone exercise. Gen. Arai Masayoshi, GSDF chief of staff, explained that conducting a similar drill in Japan would be "difficult to accomplish in a complete manner."

GSDF troops are employing portable equipment to target practice drones provided by the US, and electromagnetic waves are also used to disrupt drone circuitry.

Japan’s government announced in 2022 plans to acquire and deploy technologies capable of countering drone swarms. The country’s Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency is advancing research into high-power lasers and microwaves to bolster its anti-drone capabilities.

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