Japanese shipbuilder Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has won a tight contest to build the Australian navy’s new $10 billion fleet of warships, beating a bid from German rival ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems.
The ABC has confirmed that cabinet last night selected Japan’s upgraded Mogami frigate over the German MEKO A-200.
The first three of the frigates are expected to be built in Japan, with the remaining eight to be built in Western Australia.
It is a major victory for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and for Japan, which has thrown substantial political resources into securing the bid.
According to the report, the government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is poised to decide within days on whether to replace Australia’s aging Anzac-class frigates with Mogami-class vessels designed by Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. or German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems’ MEKO A200s in a program worth up to AU$10 billion ($6.4 billion) over the next decade.
The cutting-edge Mogami-class frigates used by Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force are widely considered to have the edge as they are newer and better armed, The Australian reported.
The Japanese frigates are also able to operate with a smaller crew of around 90 personnel, compared with around 120 on the German vessels.
However, the Mogami-class frigates are believed to be at least 20 per cent more expensive than the German vessels and riskier due to Japan’s lack of experience in building warships overseas, according to The Australian.
The German vessels would offer familiarity as the MEKO A200 is a modern version of the Australian navy’s Anzac-class frigates.
The frigate plan calls for 11 vessels, with the first three to be built abroad and the remainder at Western Australia’s Henderson shipbuilding precinct, according to the Australian government.
The procurement is part of a planned increase in Australia’s fleet over the next decade, amid China’s growing military clout in the Indo-Pacific region.
Canberra has yet to conduct a full tender process for the frigates, but well-placed sources said the government has enough technical information on both proposals to “downselect” to a single bidder for final pricing talks, with the option of returning to the other if negotiations fail, according to the report.
© 2025, GDC. © GDC and www.globaldefensecorp.com. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to www.globaldefensecorp.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
