Australian minister lauds deal for next-generation, Mogami-class frigates and their long-range missile capabilities.
Australia and Japan have reached the most important defence-industry settlement ever between each nations for the manufacturing of superior warships for the Australian Navy, the nation’s Minister for Defence Richard Marles mentioned.
Australia will improve its naval power with 11 Mogami-class frigates, constructed by Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Marles mentioned on Tuesday, with the Australian Broadcasting Company, ABC, reporting that the contract was value $10 billion Australian {dollars} (some $6.5bn).
“That is clearly the most important defence-industry settlement that has ever been struck between Japan and Australia,” Marles mentioned.
Mogami-class warships are superior stealth frigates able to launching long-range missiles, and have an operational vary of as much as 10,000 nautical miles (18,520km), in contrast with Australia’s present Anzac-class frigates, which have a spread of about 6,000 nautical miles (11,112km), Marles mentioned.
The brand new ships, which will likely be in service by 2030, additionally function with a smaller crew than the Anzac class.
“It’s a next-generation vessel. It’s stealthy,” Marles mentioned.
“It’s going to be actually necessary by way of giving our navy the aptitude to undertaking, and impactful projection is on the coronary heart of the strategic problem,” Marles mentioned, including that the deal was additionally “a really important second within the bilateral relationship between Australia and Japan”.
Australia’s Minister for Defence Trade Pat Conroy mentioned: “It should take our common function frigates from having the ability to fireplace 32 air defence missiles to 128 missiles, giving our sailors the slicing‑edge weapons and fight methods they want.”
Whereas Canberra didn’t specify a price ticket for the vessels, solely that it was a part of a broader 55 billion Australian {dollars} ($35.5bn) “funding over the last decade for the Navy’s floor combatant fleet”, the Reuters information company reported that the “three frigate contract” will see three ships inbuilt Japan, and a remaining eight anticipated to be constructed by Australia.
The contract for the frigates is Japan’s greatest and most important defence deal because it lifted a decades-long ban on navy exports in 2014, and solely the second after it agreed to provide air defence radars to the Philippines.
Japanese Minister of Defence Gen Nakatani mentioned it was a “main step ahead in Japan’s defence cooperation efforts”.
“The advantages embody enhanced joint operations and interoperability with each Australia and the US,” he instructed a briefing in Tokyo.
“This collaboration is of great safety significance to Japan,” Nakatani mentioned.
Negotiations will start this yr on a contract for the deal, which is predicted to be signed in 2026, Australian and Japanese officers mentioned.
Australia is within the midst of a significant navy restructuring introduced in 2023, with a give attention to long-range strike capabilities to higher reply to China’s naval would possibly.
It’s striving to develop its fleet of main warships from 11 to 26 over the following 10 years.