The Australian government has signed contracts for the first three multi-purpose frigates for the Royal Australian Navy, which will be built by the Japanese company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
The Australian government announced this.
The deal is the first overseas sale of a new Japanese warship since Japan imposed an 80-year moratorium on arms exports after World War II.
The ships are a modernized version of the Mogami-class multi-purpose frigates (NewFFM). The Australian Navy is expected to receive the first vessel in 2029.
The Japanese government authorized Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to jointly develop and produce the new frigates with Australia to participate in the Australian tender in 2024. The Japanese company competed for the contract with Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems, which offered its MEKO A-200 design.
In total, Australia plans to acquire 11 new multi-role frigates to replace eight aging Anzac-class frigates commissioned in the 1990s and early 2000s.
The first three ships are planned to be built in Japan, with the remaining eight to be built at the Henderson shipyard in Western Australia.
The purchase is in line with the Australian government’s plan to more than double its surface combatant fleet after a review of the navy’s structure in 2024.
Mogami Frigates
The NewFFM is a heavily modernized successor to the Mogami frigate, with larger dimensions and more powerful weapons in line with new Japanese Navy requirements.
The new ship is 9 meters longer, and its displacement has increased from 3,900 to 4,880 tons, allowing more weapons to be installed and survivability to be improved. At the same time, speed will remain 30 knots, and cruising range will reach 10,000 nautical miles.
A 32-cell Mk 41 VLS vertical launcher, capable of carrying SM-2/SM-6 surface-to-air missiles, has been added on board, as well as anti-submarine missiles. In addition, naval drones are planned to be integrated for mine countermeasures and reconnaissance missions.
Like the ships of the original Mogami design, the NewFFM is expected to receive a 127 mm Mk 45 Mod 4 gun mount and eight launchers for anti-ship missiles.
