The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) announced on 5 August 2025 that it has selected an upgraded version of the Japanese Mogami-class frigate as the preferred platform for the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN’s) future fleet of 11 general-purpose frigates to be procured under Project Sea 3000.
It is the first time the Australian DoD has selected a major Japanese weapon system and the first time Japan has exported such a platform.
The deal for the 11 frigates is understood to be worth AUD 10 billion (EUR 5.59 billion). The Australian DoD will now conduct detailed negotiations with the Japanese government and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), which builds the Mogami class, with a view to agreeing a firm contract in early 2026.
“Following a rigorous and competitive tender process, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ Mogami-class frigate was assessed as best able to quickly meet the capability requirements and strategic needs of the Australian Defence Force (ADF),” the Australian DoD stated.
The Mogami-class design had been competing against a bid by Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems, which had offered its Meko A-200 frigate design.
Beyond the Mogami class’ overall capabilities, key factors in the design being selected were a lower cost over the life of the programme and the ability of MHI to ensure the ships are rapidly delivered, with Australian Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy stating, “This decision comes months ahead of schedule, reinforcing our commitment to deliver of capability at speed and at a lower overall cost to taxpayers. It makes good on our commitment to deliver four times as many warships in the next 10 years compared to the plan inherited by the former Coalition government.”
The Australian government under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wants the first general-purpose frigate to be delivered to Australia in 2029 and to enter service in 2030, with the third entering service in 2034. In order to make this happen the first three ships will be built in Japan, with production then transferring to Austal in Western Australia.
Along with the six Hunter-class heavy frigates being built for the RAN by BAE Systems Australia, the 11 upgraded Mogami-class general-purpose frigates will replace the RAN’s Anzac-class frigates, the first of which entered service in May 1996. Seven of the original eight Anzac-class ships currently remain in service.
The RAN will this be replacing an original fleet of eight Anzac-class frigates with 17 new frigates overall.
“Today, we are taking another step towards delivering a much larger and more lethal navy, with stealth frigates that will reassure our allies and deter our adversaries,” Conroy stated. “The upgraded Mogami‑class frigate is the best option for our navy, boosting its capability to put to sea. It will take our general-purpose frigates from being able to fire 32 air defence missiles to 128 missiles, giving our sailors the cutting‑edge weapons and combat systems they need to prevail in an increasingly complex environment.”
Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles stated, “The upgraded Mogami-class frigate will help secure our maritime trade routes and our northern approaches as part of a larger and more lethal naval surface combatant fleet.”
The upgraded Mogami-class frigate offers a range of up to 10,000 nautical miles (18,520 km). Its weapon suite includes a 32-cell vertical launch system that can launch both surface-to-air missiles and anti-ship missiles.
Ever since the Second World War Japan had followed a self-imposed ban on the export of major military hardware and had only exported smaller platforms such as patrol boats, but this policy was relaxed on 1 April 2014 by the Japanese prime minister at the time, Shinzo Abe.
Japanese law has allowed co-operative development, facilitating, for example, the country’s involvement in the US-led F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme and more recently the UK-Italian-Japanese Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP).
Australia’s selection of the upgraded Mogami‑class frigate, however, indicates not only the growing strategic co-operation between Australia and Japan, but potentially the Japanese defence industry’s emergence onto the world stage as a significant player in the global defence market.
