Japan Drone and AAM Expo 2026, Japan’s annual drone showcase, has grown into one of Asia’s most important unmanned systems gatherings. It brings together commercial developers, researchers, defense-adjacent companies, and government stakeholders under one roof. This year’s edition in Tokyo made clear that Japanese innovators are pushing the boundaries of heavy-lift UAV technology. Several exhibitors showcased large, ambitious platforms built for serious work. While no single article could capture every standout vehicle on the show floor, this is Part 1 of a two-part series spotlighting some of the most unique big aircraft and the people behind them, as well as a bit about the show itself.
Japan Drone and AAM Expo 2026: A Record-Breaking Show
The event that brought these big drone companies to Tokyo was no small affair. Organized by the Japan UAS Industrial Development Association (JUIDA) and co-sponsored by Congre Inc., the 11th Japan Drone 2026 and the 5th Next Generation Air Mobility EXPO 2026 ran for three days beginning June 3rd at Makuhari Messe. A total of 311 companies and organizations filled 461 booths, up from 285 companies and 439 booths the previous year, making it a record-breaking year for exhibitors. Overseas participation was particularly notable, with 66 international exhibitors representing 14 countries and regions, compared to 9 countries and regions the year prior.
Total attendance reached 20,070 over the three days, a remarkable result given that opening day was disrupted by a typhoon which forced organizers to push the start time to 1:00 p.m. and reduced Day 1 attendance to 4,750 visitors against the prior year’s 7,491. Days two and three recovered strongly, drawing 7,622 and 7,698 attendees respectively.
The show also debuted a first-ever Job Fair and Career Change Fair, designed to match talent with drone industry employers, which organizers reported generated substantial engagement and numerous successful connections between candidates and exhibiting companies. The concurrent Japan Drone and AAM Awards 2026 recognized standout innovation across hardware, software, advanced air mobility, and international categories. Notably, the Special Jury Prize went to the National Fire Agency of the Republic of Korea and the National Fire Research Institute for their AI-Powered Standard Ground Control System for Missing Person Search and Firefighting Drones. (Stay tuned for an upcoming article on NIFC). The next edition, the 12th Japan Drone 2027 and the 6th Next Generation Air Mobility EXPO 2027, is already confirmed for Makuhari Messe from June 2 to 4, 2027. Now on to the big drones…
Terra Labo’s Terra Dolphin: Geospatial Intelligence After Disaster
Of all the large drones at the expo, Terra Labo’s Terra Dolphin drew some of the most sustained attention. Kazuma Muramatsu, the company’s Chief Strategy Officer, who invited me to call him “Terry,” a name colleagues called him during a stint in Texas, explained the drone’s origins.
“Japan is rather a country of disaster,” Terry said, citing flooding, earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes as the realities that shaped his company’s mission. Terra Labo set out to answer a deceptively hard question: how do you collect geospatial damage information immediately after a catastrophe, when ground sensors and wired infrastructure have already collapsed? The answer became the Terra Dolphin VTOL.
The Terradorphin VTOL on display carries a 4.3-meter wingspan, stands approximately one meter tall, and breaks down into 10 individual pieces small enough to fit in a minivan or small truck. Two people can assemble and deploy it. It flies for up to 10 hours and covers 1,000 kilometers. In so doing, it places long-endurance ISR capability within reach of disaster response teams that cannot wait for dedicated military assets.
Terry noted that the current 4.3-meter model is itself a scaled version of an even larger concept vehicle and that the Japanese government has already taken notice of its potential. Terra Labo also announced a collaboration with Thailand at the expo, signaling that the platform’s reach extends well beyond Japan’s borders. Future plans include adding a cargo port to the airframe so the same aircraft that maps destruction can also deliver medicine and supplies.
Topia: Carbon Fiber, 100-Kilo Payload, Five Months to Fly
Koto Topia offered one of the expo’s more remarkable origin stories. The unnamed large multirotor that Topia displayed at the 2026 expo was also shown at Japan Drone 2025, where it attracted significant media attention. What makes the story unusual is the timeline: Topia built the entire drone in five months, starting from nothing.
The motivation was twofold. Topia already operated a carbon fiber manufacturing project in Kanagawa Prefecture, and the team wanted to put that expertise to work in a new business. Carbon fiber construction means the airframe is exceptionally light despite its size, a direct product of Topia’s in-house material capabilities. The drone carries a cargo payload of 100 kilograms beneath its frame, and Koto confirmed the original design intent was disaster response, specifically the ability to deliver water to areas cut off by flooding or other emergencies.
Topia is not selling the drone and is actively seeking a manufacturing partner to take it into production. The company envisions positioning itself as a supplier, building the aircraft for customers who need it rather than operating a fleet. For companies or agencies searching for a heavy-lift carbon fiber platform with disaster response capabilities, Topia’s prototype offers a serious starting point that is already proven in the air.
QUKAI’s QKI Fusion VTOL 3.0: The Mother Ship with Baby Drones
QUKAI CEO Naoki Morita brought one of the conceptually boldest systems to the expo floor: the QKI Fusion VTOL 3.0, a fixed-wing VTOL with a 3.5-meter wingspan and a dry weight of just 12 kilograms. Naoki emphasized the aircraft’s weight as central to its value. A light, rigid airframe translates directly into smooth flight, lower power consumption, and greater durability across extended missions. The drone carries a 10-kilogram payload and achieves 100 kilometers of range on electric power, extending to over 500 kilometers when equipped with a gas engine.
The QUKAI Fusion VTOL 3.5 targets long-range monitoring, inspection, mapping, maritime observation, and disaster response missions. The platform is designed to support a wide range of ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) applications for both public and commercial operators. The platform is commercially available and has already been deployed in operational projects.
However, the feature that generated the most conversation at the expo is one still coming into service: the drone’s ability to deploy smaller “baby drones” during flight. Morita described a mother ship concept in which the large VTOL covers long distances, then releases smaller autonomous platforms to fan out and collect data across a wide area. All platforms communicate with each other to aggregate data in real time.
QUKAI is currently developing a concept in which a larger VTOL platform can deploy smaller autonomous drones to expand operational coverage and data collection capabilities. Future development will focus on coordinated operations and distributed sensing. When it does, it will give operators a single deployable asset that effectively becomes a distributed sensor network at range, a significant capability step for ISR teams operating in complex or resource-constrained environments.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of this series, which will feature four additional large drone platforms from the Japan Drone and AAM Expo 2026.