Howa Machinery,Ltd. is deepening its collaboration with Prodrone in the drone business and plans to build a new mass-production plant on its premises, aiming for annual production of 10,000 units and a capacity of 58,000 units per year by March 2029. As defense-related activity intensifies, information on the government’s discussions regarding the scale of defense spending is also drawing attention.
Changes to Howa Machinery,Ltd.’s message board have been reported, including its renewal and the display of the sentiment breakdown for the past week through the new “Everyone’s Ratings” message board.
Posts on the message board introduce the capital partnership and joint development between Howa Machinery,Ltd. and Prodrone, noting the joint development of interceptor drones and the decision to make an investment. The investment in Prodrone is mentioned as having been announced on 7 September 2026.
There are plans to build Prodrone’s first mass-production plant on the company’s premises, advancing efforts to establish a mass-production base for domestically produced drones. Prodrone has received certification for a stable supply plan for specified critical materials and aims to reach annual production of 10,000 units during 2027 and a capacity of 58,000 units per year by March 2029.
In the medium to long term, expansion of the defense-related business is viewed as promising, and the importance of cooperation between AI and drones has been highlighted. In addition, reports say discussions are under way on a new proposal to set defense spending in the ¥50 trillion to ¥60 trillion range over five years.
In connection with the situation surrounding Taiwan, movements in defense-related stocks are attracting attention, with heavy-industry stocks, in addition to Howa Machinery,Ltd., frequently becoming topics of discussion.