Australia is set to sign a $10 billion contract for three Japanese-built frigates, a landmark in Australia-Japan defence ties as both nations deepen military co-operation in response to China’s rise.
Defence Minister Richard Marles and his Japanese counterpart, Shinjiro Koizumi, will meet in Melbourne on Saturday to announce that the contract with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for the frigates has been signed.
The selection of Japan’s Mogami warship was driven partly by a push to deepen defence co-operation with Tokyo.
Marles selected Japan’s Mogami design in 2025 for the navy’s general-purpose frigate program after an independent surface fleet review recommended rapidly acquiring 11 light frigates of about 5000 tonnes to expand Australia’s fleet and boost missile capacity.
The decision to select Japan’s design was driven partly by a push to deepen defence co-operation with Tokyo, as Australia broadens its network of military partnerships with like-minded middle powers beyond its core alliance with the United States.
Japan is undergoing its most significant shift in defence posture since World War II, as Tokyo seeks to shed the constraints of its post-war pacifist constitution and rebuild hard-power capabilities in response to China’s military rise and an uncertain US security guarantee.
The new warships will replace the ageing Anzac-class frigates – two of which have already been retired – amid a regional arms race in response to China’s massive militarisation.
The three ships will be built in Japan by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries; the first is due to be delivered in 2029 and the next two by 2034.
They will have a range of up to 10,000 nautical miles and be equipped with a 32-cell vertical launch system, surface-to-air missiles and anti-ship missiles.
The remaining eight ships called for by the fleet review are to be built at the Henderson defence precinct in Western Australia.
The total cost of the general-purpose frigate program remains unclear. Defence’s latest Integrated Investment Plan estimates it will cost $15 billion to $20 billion over the next decade, including about $10 billion for the first three Japan-built frigates and associated up-front program costs.
The frigate purchase is part of a broader shift in the Australian Defence Force away from traditional land warfare towards naval power, including under the AUKUS program.
Marles on Thursday announced the government would increase military spending by a further $53 billion over the next decade, as the government comes under pressure from the Trump administration to become more self-reliant in defence.
The push for new frigates reflects growing concern that the navy’s firepower is shrinking at a time of rising regional tensions.
Jennifer Parker, an expert associate at ANU’s National Security College, said Australia had the smallest and oldest surface combatant fleet in decades, with just 10 ships, at the most dangerous strategic moment since World War II.
She said the acquisition of the Mogami-class frigates was a welcome step.
“It is the most significant expansion of the surface fleet in decades, and historic as both our first import of such a complex capability from Japan and the first time Japan has exported a platform of this sophistication,” said Parker.
“However, a significant gap remains. The fleet of 10 will fall to nine this year before it begins to grow again from around 2030 as the Mogami enters service.
“Given the level of strategic risk, we should be asking whether the first Mogami could be delivered earlier than 2029. That would increase integration risk, but it would reduce a period of real vulnerability.”
This week, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the time had come to revise Japan’s pacifist constitution, signalling a push to formally recognise the Self-Defence Forces and pave the way for a more assertive military role.
The move, if realised, would mark the first amendment to the 1947 charter and underpin a broader expansion in defence spending, which is already on track to double to about 2 per cent of gross domestic product.
“Japan has been kind of in the timeout box because of World War II, frankly,” said Andrew Koch, founder of Nexus Pacific, a Tokyo-based defence-industry advisory firm.
“But they were inevitably going to swing closer towards the centre of global politics,”
Alongside this remilitarisation push, Japan is also attempting to revitalise its industrial base, particularly in strategic sectors such as shipbuilding, semiconductors and advanced manufacturing.
Decades of decline in heavy industry have left capacity hollowed out, prompting policymakers to view defence procurement as a way to rebuild sovereign capability and secure supply chains.
© 2026, 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.
