AirKamuy is a Nagoya-based defense technology company founded in 2022. It designs and manufactures fixed-wing unmanned aircraft, including VTOL platforms that can take off and land in limited spaces while retaining the flight characteristics of fixed-wing aircraft. The portfolio addresses defense missions that require surveillance, search, logistics, reconnaissance, and other unmanned operations across large areas.
The product range includes the Σ-1 fixed-wing VTOL aircraft and the AirKamuy 150, a low-cost fixed-wing UAV made primarily from coated cardboard. Σ-1 is designed for longer-endurance and higher-payload missions, while AirKamuy 150 targets low-cost production, transport, training, testing, and other defense applications. AirKamuy also provides aircraft design and manufacturing for specific customer requirements.
Σ-1 Extends Fixed-Wing VTOL Capability
AirKamuy Σ-1 is a fixed-wing VTOL aircraft designed for logistics, search, and surveillance. A folding-wing mechanism reduces its size during transport and vertical takeoff and landing, while the fixed-wing configuration enables longer flights. The aircraft measures 1.4 meters by 1.8 meters during takeoff and landing and expands to 3.2 meters by 1.7 meters during horizontal flight.
Σ-1 has a maximum payload of 10 kilograms and a flight speed of 70 kilometers per hour. With a 5-kilogram payload, the electric configuration provides up to 120 minutes of flight time and 140 kilometers of range, while the hybrid configuration provides up to 360 minutes and 420 kilometers. These specifications allow the aircraft to serve remote-area logistics, search, surveillance, maritime missions, and other operations requiring longer flight times and greater range.
AirKamuy 150 Targets Low-Cost Military Missions
AirKamuy 150 is a fixed-wing UAV made primarily from corrugated cardboard and designed for low-cost production and transport. The aircraft was exhibited at DSEI Japan 2025 for reconnaissance, logistics, training, testing and evaluation, and other defense applications. Japan’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency lists AirKamuy 150 as a low-cost, mass-producible and mass-transportable UAV for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, logistics, counter-UAV training, testing and evaluation, and CBRN detection.
The aircraft has a listed payload of 1.5 kilograms and more than one hour of endurance in ATLA material. In April 2026, Japan’s Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force was using AirKamuy 150 as an aerial target, establishing a military training application for the aircraft. Reports in 2026 have placed its unit price at about $2,000 to $2,500, with a design that allows flat-pack transport and rapid assembly.
UAVs for Surveillance, Logistics and Training
AirKamuy’s defense applications extend from surveillance and search to logistics and training. Σ-1 is designed for missions in mountainous and maritime areas, remote-island logistics, and maritime surveillance, including operations from vessels. The aircraft’s VTOL capability removes the need for a conventional runway, while its fixed-wing configuration provides longer flight distances for missions requiring area coverage.
AirKamuy 150 provides a lower-cost aircraft for missions where production volume, transport, and replacement cost are important. ATLA lists the aircraft for ISR, logistics, CBRN detection, testing and evaluation, and counter-UAV training. Its use by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force as an aerial target also places the platform within Japan’s military training activities.
From Japanese Startup to Defense Supplier
AirKamuy was founded by engineers with backgrounds in mechanical and aeronautical engineering. Takumi Yamaguchi, CEO, graduated from Nagoya University and previously worked at Rakuten Mobile and Mizuho, while CTO Shogo Kobayashi studied aerospace engineering at Tohoku University and previously worked on unmanned aircraft at Subaru Aerospace. The company was established in August 2022 and is based in Nagoya.
In April 2025, AirKamuy raised ¥100 million in a pre-seed financing round involving ANOBAKA, Sparkle, and the STATION Ai Central Japan fund, alongside financing from Nagoya Bank and the Japan Finance Corporation. The financing funded fixed-wing UAV solutions and expanded capabilities for government contracts. AirKamuy has exhibited its aircraft at Japanese aerospace and defense events, including DSEI Japan 2025, while AirKamuy 150 has entered use by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force for aerial-target training.
ABOUT | TAKUMI YAMAGUCHI
Takumi Yamaguchi, co-founder, is the CEO of AirKamuy Inc., a Japanese defense technology startup he established in August 2022. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering from Nagoya University.
Yamaguchi began his career at Rakuten in 2019, where he worked during the launch phase of Rakuten Mobile and led outdoor mobile base-station installations in Nagoya. In 2022, he joined Mizuho Bank, where he worked with innovation-focused companies in Tokyo. He subsequently founded AirKamuy, where he leads the development of fixed-wing VTOL aircraft and other unmanned aircraft systems for defense and other applications. He holds certifications as an Electric Works Specialist and an On-The-Ground Special Radio Operator.
