The government of Australia has today, Saturday 18 April 2026, announced contracts with the Japanese government and shipbuilder Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) for the purchase of three “Upgraded Mogami” general purpose frigates. The event is a first step in an overall effort under SEA 3000 to produce up to 11 new general purpose frigates. RAN expects to take delivery of the first frigate in 2029.
Australian Department of Defence press release (link):
The Albanese Government has taken a major step towards delivering a larger and more lethal surface combatant fleet with contracts now signed for Australia’s first three general purpose frigates.
Built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), the ships will be of the upgraded Japanese Mogami class frigate design, with the first scheduled to be delivered to the Royal Australian Navy in 2029.
The Albanese Government is working closely with the Japanese Government and industry with future ships to be constructed in Western Australia, subject to consolidation of the Henderson Defence Precinct, in line with the Government’s commitment to continuous naval shipbuilding.
Defence is also working with Japanese industry and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force to develop an initial capability to sustain and operate the upgraded Mogami class frigates in Australia, supported by Australian industry and workers.
The upgraded Mogami class frigate has a range of up to 10,000 nautical miles and a 32-cell Vertical Launch System. It will be equipped with surface-to-air and anti-ship missiles, crewed by 92 Royal Australian Navy sailors and officers, and capable of operating Navy’s MH-60R Seahawk maritime combat helicopter.
The decision to acquire upgraded Japanese Mogami class frigates accords with the Albanese Government’s commitment to more than double the size of Navy’s surface combatant fleet, following the 2024 independent analysis of Navy’s surface combatant fleet. In the 2026 Integrated Investment Program released this week, the Government committed to the investment of up to $20 billion over the decade into general purpose frigates.
The contract-signing was marked by the Deputy Prime Minister and his counterpart, the Japanese Minister of Defense, Koizumi Shinjirō signing the ‘Mogami Memorandum’, reaffirming the Australian and Japanese Governments’ shared commitment to the successful delivery of Australia’s general purpose frigates and deeper defence industry cooperation.
Royal Australian Navy personnel trained with the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force aboard the Mogami class frigate Japan Ship Kumano during its transit to Australia for Exercise Kakadu, further strengthening interoperability and the longstanding defence relationship between Australia and Japan.
The next two decades will see tens of billions of dollars invested in defence capabilities in Western Australia, including the build of future upgraded Mogami class frigates at the Henderson Defence Precinct, supporting around 10,000 high-skilled jobs.”
“Acquiring upgraded-Mogami class frigates demonstrates the Albanese Government’s focus on investing in the capabilities we need to keep Australians safe.
“Our surface fleet is more important than at any time in decades. These general purpose frigates will help secure our maritime trade routes and northern approaches as part of a larger and more lethal surface combatant fleet.”
“This is the fastest acquisition for the Royal Australian Navy in peacetime. We are working closely with Japanese and Australian industry partners as we acquire one of the most, if not the most, advanced general-purpose frigate in the world.
“We are delivering these commitments at pace, supporting and creating jobs for Australians, and deepening Australia’s industrial base. The first three frigates will be built offshore in Japan. We will then transition to an onshore build in line with the Government’s commitment to continuous naval shipbuilding and a future made in Australia.”
Naval News comments:
The announcement represents the most notable event in an effort by the present Australian government to realise a new “general purpose frigate”-requirement first formulated in 2024, substantially revising previous planning for the force posture of RAN. Naval News has exhaustively covered the genesis of the new Australian fleet plan following the surface fleet review of 2023. SEA 3000, the effort to field up to 11 new frigates, consisted of a drastically condensed market survey naming a range of distinct “exemplar” frigates, which subsequently morphed into candidates for the SEA 3000 requirement.
Notably, Australia originally identified the Mogami-class frigate as one candidate. However, the present selection is for a different, evolved variant, known in Japan as 06FFM or New FFM. In contrast to Mogami the new design carries twice the missile armament in its Mk 41 VLS and features a revised radar suite improving anti air-warfare. Naval shipbuilder MHI in 2024 rebranded this design as “Upgraded Mogami”, presumably with the Australian requirement in mind. Japan itself intends to produce at least 12 new 06FFM for its own needs, following on from the previous Mogami-class frigates, also known as 30FFM domestically.
Budget
Further of note for the Australian effort is what appears to be a doubling of program cost, from an originally communicated A$ 7-10 bln, to be spend on the General Purpose Frigates from FY24 to FY33. This estimate originated with the Integrated Investment Program of the Australian government published in 2024. The recently released Integrated Investment Plan 2026, which Naval News will cover in detail in a separate article, meanwhile declared a new budget of A$ 15-20 bln for SEA 3000 covering FY26-35. The Australian government has yet to communicate the motivation and causes of this change.
Zero change?
The Australian “Upgraded Mogami” will carry American and European weapon systems, in a notable change from the original Japanese configuration. The modification contrasts with Australian declarations of “zero change” in the intended design, in order to save costs and time introducing the capability. RAN variants will use the ESSM Blk 2 medium range air defence missile, Mk 54 lightweight torpedos, and also carry the NSM antiship missile.
Shipyard recapitalisation
As the press release also declares, full exercising of the envisioned build program for 11 new frigates greatly depends on progress at the Henderson Defence Precinct. Of particular relevance here is Austal, the declared national shipbuilder intended to produce eight of the 11 frigates. The company is presently also executing two construction programmes for new amphibious landing craft, illustrating significant demand for further shipbuilding capacity over the next decade.
