By NSBT Japan
John Jacobs, Ph.D. Analyst, NSBT Japan
The third edition of DSEI Japan, the biennial exhibition connecting Japan’s defense industry with its international counterparts, was held at Chiba’s Makuhari Messe from 21 to 23 May. This year’s event was notable for a new initiative: the “Newcomer Zone,” which highlighted cutting-edge dual-use technologies being developed by Japanese startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) seeking to enter the defense and security industry.
Dubbed the “Newcomer Zone” and sponsored by Deloitte Tohmatsu, this platform was designed to connect international defense industry professionals with Japanese SMEs and startups showcasing dual-use technologies applicable not only to the commercial sector but also to defense. The zone facilitated networking through various events, including live product demonstrations and pitch sessions.[1]
Participating Companies at the Newcomer Zone
DSEI Japan’s inaugural Newcomer Zone featured a total of 25 Japanese SMEs and startups,[2] each showcasing dual-use technologies considered to have strong potential in meeting the evolving needs of the international defense community. The participating companies and their specializations can be broadly categorized into the following technology sectors, listed in descending order by the number of firms in each sector:
AI, IoT & ICT
Space & Aerospace
Cybersecurity
Unmanned Systems
Industrial & Defense Equipment
Energy and Raw Materials
Consultancy
Visualized in a bar chart by technology sector, the 25 companies above can be categorized as follows:
As shown in the chart above, dual-use technologies from Japanese newcomer startups and SMEs seeking to enter the defense industry were dominated by AI, IoT, and ICT solutions, along with their closely related cybersecurity technologies. Satellite-focused space and aerospace systems were also highly represented, ranking second.
The next section highlights ElevationSpace, a Japanese company from the aerospace sector that exemplified the synergy between commercial and defense industries at the Newcomer Zone and garnered NSBT Japan’s attention during this year’s DSEI Japan.
ElevationSpace: Utilizing Commercial Re-entry Technologies to Support Defense Hypersonic Testing
ElevationSpace, a space startup founded in 2021 out of an aerospace engineering laboratory at Tohoku University in Sendai, is adapting satellite re-entry technologies, originally developed for commercial and scientific use, to address emerging defense requirements. At DSEI Japan, the company showcased its “Hypersonic Flying Test Bed (HFTB),” a recoverable satellite re-entry capsule designed for hypersonic technology testing in support of stand-off defense and missile defense capability development.[4]
At its booth in the DSEI Japan Newcomer Zone, the company highlighted hypersonic missiles as the most significant space-related threat, citing their high speeds, unconventional maneuvers and trajectories, and ability to operate below radar horizons as factors that drastically reduce missile defense response times.[5]
ElevationSpace’s HFTB is designed to support the collection of critical data related to hypersonic research, including measurements of “thermal loads, aerodynamic forces, and plasma effects that occur during actual hypersonic re-entry conditions”.[6] Additionally, the system is designed for safe recovery of the capsule post-experimentation, allowing for “detailed analysis of onboard materials and sensors”.[7]
ElevationSpace’s HFTB re-entry capsule is capable of reaching speeds exceeding Mach 25, thereby replicating real-world re-entry conditions. The Japanese startup asserts that this performance surpasses the capabilities of ground-based wind tunnels, thereby enabling a more accurate simulation of actual environmental conditions.[8]
ElevationSpace therefore seems to have identified a niche in Japan, where hypersonic testing currently appears to rely heavily on several wind tunnel facilities operated by major organizations such as the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), and the University of Tokyo.[9]
In this context, there is likely to be a demand in Japan for a domestically developed, capsule-based hypersonic testing solution comparable to those emerging in other countries. Recently, California-based startup Varda Space was awarded $48 million by the U.S. Air Force to test payloads under hypersonic conditions using that particular company’s commercial “orbital capsule” re-entry system.[10]
ElevationSpace, in developing its own “HFTB” hypersonic testbed, is leveraging the company’s satellite re-entry capsule technologies developed through active involvement in Japan’s commercial space sector. The company claims to be the first private Japanese firm to attempt re-entry and recovery operations from space and is currently leading two active projects in the commercial and civil space domains.
The first project, “ELS-R”, is a space environment utilization and recovery platform designed to support scientific experiments and space-based manufacturing. Using a small unmanned re-entry vehicle, ELS-R enables the return of experimental results and manufactured materials to Earth.[11] The second project, “ELS-RS”, is a collaborative effort launched in 2023 with JAXA to develop a higher-frequency re-entry and recovery service from low Earth orbit (LEO) platforms.[12]
In this way, ElevationSpace exemplifies how Japanese startups featured in DSEI Japan’s Newcomer Zone are actively contributing to the commercial and civil sectors, and increasingly identifying niches that their dual-use technologies can fill in the defense sector.
Conclusions
The inaugural Newcomer Zone at this year’s DSEI Japan—the “biggest international defense trade show in Japan, providing international players with an unparalleled level of access to the advanced technologies and innovative materials Japan offers”[13]— gave Japanese SMEs and startups a significant platform to showcase the applicability of their dual-use technologies for defense.
The latest innovations from Japan’s “latest technical solution providers” at the Newcomer Zone[14] were presented not only to domestic decision-makers from the Japan Ministry of Defense (JMOD) and the Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA), but also to global defense industry representatives and high-ranking delegates from partner militaries.
Among the international attendees at this year’s DSEI Japan was Lieutenant General Sir Tom Copinger-Symes, Deputy Commander of the United Kingdom’s Strategic Command, who noted that dual-use technologies from the commercial sector are driving innovation and “redefining the battlespace” in conflicts such as Ukraine.[15] However, he also cautioned that commercial companies retain the ability to disable their dual-use solutions that are increasingly relied upon by national militaries.[16]
Thus, this international trend highlights the importance in Japan’s defense strategy for Tokyo to realize the establishment of a resilient domestic ecosystem to support the countries’ dual-use startups that also features reliable technological exchange and other forms of collaboration with like-minded partners.
[1] DSEI Japan 2025, “Media Pack”, p.4.
[2] DSEI Japan 2025, “Pocket Map”, acquired at DSEI Japan 2025.
[3] gBizINFO, “法人プロフィール：ＡＩＤＴ株式会社” [Corporate Profile: AIDT] , https://info.gbiz.go.jp/hojin/ichiran?hojinBango=6220001026396.
[4] ElevationSpace Inc., “What is the HFTB?”, leaflet acquired at DSEI Japan 2025.
[5] ElevationSpace Inc., “Need to prepare for new and complex air threats”, leaflet acquired at DSEI Japan 2025.
[6] ElevationSpace Inc., “What is the HFTB?”, leaflet acquired at DSEI Japan 2025.
[9] Kelley M. Sayler (2025) “Hypersonic Weapons: Background and Issues for Congress”. CRS Report, R45811, Updated February 11, 2025, https://sgp.fas.org/crs/weapons/R45811.pdf, p.22.
[10] Sandra Erwin (2024) “U.S. Air Force awards Varda $48 million to test payloads on reentry capsules”. SpaceNews, December 2, 2024, https://spacenews.com/u-s-air-force-awards-varda-48-million-to-test-payloads-on-reentry-capsules/
[11] ElevationSpace Inc., “ELS-R”, https://elevation-space.com/en/els-r.
[12] JAXA, “ElevationSpace and JAXA Launch Co-Creation Project for High Frequency Re-entry and Recovery Service from LEO“, April 27, 2023 https://global.jaxa.jp/press/2023/04/20230427-1_e.html.
[13] DSEI Japan 2025, “Media Pack”, p.3.
[15] Benjamin Howe (2025) “DSEI Japan 2025: Dual-use technology offers huge opportunities and vulnerabilities, deputy head of UK StratCom says”. DSEI Japan, May 22, 2025, https://www.dsei-japan.com/news/dsei-japan-2025-dual-use-technology-offers-huge-opportunities-vulnerabilities-deputy-head-uk-stratcom.
This article was originally posted on NSBT Japan, the first defense and security industry network in Japan. The publication provides the latest information on security business trends both within Japan and overseas. Asian Military Review began exchanging articles with NSBT Japan in April 2024.
Read the original article here.