Australia, Japan seal USD 6.5B warship deal with 3 Mogami frigates ordered first

MELBOURNE: (Apr 18) Australia and Japan signed contracts on Saturday to deliver the first three of a 10 billion Australian dollar (USD 6.5 billion) fleet of Japanese-designed warships, with the first due for delivery in three years.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will build the first three Mogami-class frigates in Japan. Australia plans to build another eight in a shipyard in Western Australia.

Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and his Australian counterpart Richard Marles attended a signing ceremony aboard the Mogami-class frigate JS Kumano, which is part of the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force, docked off the Australian city of Melbourne.