The Albanese Government has announced the selection of Japan’s upgraded Mogami-class frigate as the preferred platform for the Royal Australian Navy’s new general purpose frigates, according to a joint media release issued on 5 August 2025.
Following a competitive tender process, the Japanese design offered by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was judged to best meet the Australian Defence Force’s capability requirements and strategic priorities.
The selected variant features a range of up to 10,000 nautical miles, a 32-cell Vertical Launch System, and a mix of anti-ship and surface-to-air missile systems.
“This announcement is another example of the Albanese Government’s focus on investing in the capabilities we need now and into the future, to meet Australia’s strategic circumstances,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles. “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 frigates will replace the ageing Anzac-class, providing enhanced undersea warfare and air defence capabilities. The first three ships will be built in Japan, with the first expected to arrive in 2029 and become operational in 2030. The remainder will be constructed at the consolidated Henderson shipbuilding precinct in Western Australia.
Defence Minister Pat Conroy highlighted the missile capacity of the new platform as a key advantage. “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,” he said.
The decision comes months ahead of schedule and follows the Government’s earlier commitment to respond to the Independent Analysis of Navy’s Surface Combatant Fleet. Over the next decade, $55 billion will be invested in the naval surface fleet, with long-term plans to more than double the number of Navy surface combatants.
While the Government acknowledged the quality proposal from Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems, it will now move into contract negotiations with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and the Japanese government, aiming to sign binding commercial agreements in 2026.
T26 order dead ?
No, this is in addition to those six Hunter-class frigates. Overall, a twenty ship escort fleet of three Hobart-class destroyers, six HUnter-class frigates and eleven upgraded Mogami-class frigates. Currently, the RN is planning for a nineteen ship escort fleet, though it has been reported that this could climb significantly in the future.
Hi leh. I wondered where you had seen reports about possible increases to the Royal Navy fleet of Frigates. Do you have any information, would be appreciated.
Hey John,
Unfortunately, I can’t post links in this forum without having the message flagged to moderation, so I’ll only be able to give you the search terms for Google. Those should lead you to the relevant article.
Search for ‘UKDJ 25 escorts’ in Google, it should be the first search result.
I think you’ll find that was a Boris Johnson target back a while. Not a cat in hells chance now. We’ll be lucky to have a dozen, never mind 20/25.
That was a 2021 article, no sign of the T32 yet.
Heck, did you see all those posters ? Where are they all now, I don’t recognise 90% of those names.
Hi leh.. Thanks for the info: Will have a look. I know the RN is on for the figure of 19 Destroyers and Frigates by 2035. Hope there will be a few more on top of that figure.
He didn’t say Frigates he said escorts which is 100% correct there are 8 T26 and 5 T31 Frigates building or on order (13) plus the 6 T45 AAW Destroyers. Which as it stands was the 1 for 1 Frigate replacement programme for the 13 T23 which plus the T45 is the escort force.
No increase above that has been announced nor do I suspect anything will be (if at all) till after the DIP is released in the Autumn (Defence Investment Plan).
Just having 3 or 5 more frigates in the future would make quite a difference to the balance of the escort fleet. Will see, hoping/fingers crossed. Also curious to see what happens when the 3 older River class patrol vessels are retired.
No, these are in addition I believe, although Australia did reduce their order from 9 to 6 (they call them the Hunter class).
The first Hunter class is already under construction.
Not dead—complementary. The Mogami-class frigates are for the RAN’s general purpose fleet (SEA 3000), while the Type 26-based Hunter-class frigates are still being built under SEA 5000 for anti-submarine warfare. Both programmes are proceeding in parallel to expand and modernise the surface fleet.
Reduced from 9 to 6. Australia no longer feels ASW is such a big priority because it doesn’t fit in with the current narrative in the Murdoch media of hypersonic missiles and photon torpedos. What they really now want are five thousand missiles on blingy general purpose frigate from a country that has never fought a war since 1945 and has some serious hang ups about supplying weapons even to its closest Allie’s.
Two years from now this Frigate will follow the standard Australian play book where it is claimed to be too expensive and too under armed and they will say they should have really gone for the German one which would have been so much cheaper and better (it wouldn’t)
Japanese ship yards with zero export experience will have a hard time dealing with a customer like the RAN.
Once they try and build them in Australia costs will sky rocket just like every other naval program they embark on and the navy will continuously interfere in the design because they know best.
All this was the same for Saab from Sweden, Navantia from Spain, Naval Group from France and now BAE from the UK.
I wonder whether the first of these or the first of the Hunters will enter service first. Probably a silly question.
As things stand, the first Hunter‑class frigate is expected to enter service in 2032, with construction underway in Adelaide. On the other hand, the first Mogami‑class frigate is expected to be in service by 2030, since it is being built in Japan first before local production ramps up. So unless timelines shift, the Mogami will almost certainly enter service earlier than the Hunter.
No, the first Hunter Class (T26) is under construction although the order for the RAN has been reduced from 9 to 6.
Final RAN surface fleet combatants will include 3 Hobart (AWD), 6 Hunter (T26) and 11 Mogami – 20 in total.
The 32 cell VLS on the Mogami are ‘strike length’ which means they will be able to launch the full complement of RAN’s in-service missiles – SM2, SM3, SM6, Tomahawk and ESSM (quad packed) plus canister launched NSM.
BAE has designed a module to replace the Multi Mission Bay in the Hunter (T26) which will add an additional 64 MK41 VLS (taking total to 96 cells) plus double NSM canisters from 8 to 16.
There is also the possibility for the 6 Arafura class OPVs now entering service to act as ‘arsenal’ ships using off-board targeting from other ships sensors with containerised launch systems like the U.S. ‘Typon’ VLS system (SM6, Tomahawk) on the flight deck.
The RAN fleet review committed to developing autonomous uncrewed ‘arsenal’ ships with numbers and details of weapons systems yet to be determined.
All in all the RAN will have a potent surface fleet for a country of just 25 million.
And just to be lovingly Australian it will be 1 more escort than the RNs planned 19 escorts for a country of 70 million.
There is very little chance of that, especially when Australia wants to build 8 of the mogamis
Mogami cannot use any SM missiles, that requires AEGIS
Be interesting to see with the CIP into the T31s what this will give the RN compared to the Mogami’s. Still good but different. The RN could still add a few more enhanced T31s/A140/MRP if need be. Anyway good on the Aussies, it will be quite a force with not just mk41s but all coming with the 5″ main gun.