Australia and Japan have signed a deal for three upgraded Mogami-class frigates for the Royal Australian Navy, a move that will remake Australia’s surface fleet and deepen defense ties with Tokyo. The contract was signed by the two countries’ defense ministers aboard JS Kumano in Melbourne earlier this month.
The deal is Japan’s largest-ever defense export and puts Mitsubishi Heavy Industries on the hook to build three 4,800-ton frigates in Japan. The first is due to be delivered by December 2029, while another eight frigates will be built in Western Australia under a shipbuilding effort expected to cost up to A$20 billion, or US$14.4 billion, over the next decade.
Pat Conroy said the pace of the acquisition is unusual for a navy in peacetime. He called it “the fastest acquisition for the Royal Australian Navy in peacetime” and said Australia is working closely with Japanese and Australian industry partners to secure one of the most advanced general-purpose frigates in the world. Rear Admiral Stephen Hughes was even blunter. “It’s going to be a game-changer from a capability perspective,” he said, arguing the Mogami class lets Australia “jump a generation in technology.”
The timing matters because the Royal Australian Navy now has only ten surface combatants: three Hobart-class destroyers and seven Anzac-class frigates. Those seven Anzac ships are to be replaced by the upgraded Mogami class, which officials describe as larger and far more capable. The new frigates are expected to offer as much as 300 days at sea annually, with armaments including ESSM Block 2 surface-to-air missiles in a 32-cell Mk 41 vertical-launch system, deck-mounted Naval Strike Missiles, MK 54 lightweight torpedoes and SeaRAM. They will also use Japanese systems and sensors, including the combat management system, sonar and UNICORN mast.
The friction point is simple: Australia is buying fewer ships first, but more capability faster. Hughes said the transition is not about counting hulls, but about moving from one force to another with greater capability and different opportunities. The broader fleet plan also points to a smaller Australian surface combatant force than many expected, a shift that has been described as the smallest since World War II. At the same time, the project is a major lift for Japan’s shipbuilding industry and a sign of closer strategic alignment between the two countries. Subcontracts are already being awarded, including to NEC for nine types of equipment and to Rolls-Royce for MT30 gas turbines.
By the end of the program, Australia and Japan will operate a combined fleet of 35 Mogami frigates. The answer to the question raised by the deal is already visible in the contract: Australia is not waiting for a future fleet debate to be settled; it is buying the ship it says it needs now, and doing it fast.
