Australia has officially selected Japan's Mogami-class stealth frigate for its future general-purpose naval fleet under the General Purpose Frigate (GPF) program, aimed at replacing the aging Anzac-class vessels currently forming the backbone of the Royal Australian Navy's surface forces. The $10 billion Australian dollars ($6.5 billion USD) contract will see the delivery of 11 advanced frigates, according to Breaking Defense.
Out of the 11 ships, 3 will be built in Japan at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries shipyard. The first one of these is scheduled to be delivered in 2029 and enter service by 2030, with the third ship expected by 2034. The remaining 8 frigates will be constructed in Australia by Austal Defence Shipbuilding Australia.
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However, production timelines for the Australian-built vessels remain unclear. Given current delays in Australia's naval shipbuilding sector, there is growing speculation that additional ships may need to be built in Japan to accelerate fleet modernization.
As noted by Defense Express, Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force has already received 8 Mogami-class frigates over the past three years. The first entered service in 2022, and the 12th ship is expected to be commissioned by 2027. This means that Japan will have completed a 12-ship run within eight years — significantly faster than Australia's projected timeline.
Japan's National Security Council approved the export of these frigates to Australia back in 2024, marking a groundbreaking moment in Japan's postwar defense policy. Interestingly, despite Japan already fielding several Mogami-class vessels, the first six units still lack vertical launch systems capable of deploying Tomahawk cruise missiles.
This deal also highlights the shifting balance in the Asia-Pacific naval theater. With the Mogami program, Japan is now on track to build twice as many modern frigates as russia is expected to have in its entire Pacific Fleet. While Japan is expected to deploy 12 Mogami-class stealth frigates, russia has only 5, 2 of which are modernised old soviet Project-1155M ships, and only 3 being newly built Project-22350 frigates.
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