Following the Japanese Ministry of Defense award of a contract to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) to build three upgraded Mogami-class (06FFM) under the Japanese FY2025 defense budget (see page 31), Australia immediately signed the “Mogami Memorandum” - the expected deal with the Japanese government for the first batch of three Upgraded Mogami-class frigates, the first of which is scheduled for delivery in December 2029.
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| Upgraded Mogami Model displayed by MHI at Indo Pacific 2025. Image: navalnews. --- |
The following chart, provided by Navalnews.com to highlight the rise in cost for the upgraded Mogami, also indicates that FY2025 is the first year three hulls have been ordered. As an upgraded Mogami takes three years from hull laying to launch, this should indicate that the ‘third’ FY2025 hull is the first Australian ship to meet Australia's tight delivery timeline.
We have discussed the 06FFM when the class was selected by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) to fulfil its General Purpose frigate program (project SEA 3000) in August 2025, but it is surprising how fast Australia is moving forward with this AUD$20-25 billion dollar program, with the remaining 8 hulls will be built at the Austal Henderson Australia facility, now a very busy shipyard as Austal is ramping up for construction of eighteen Landing Craft Medium (LCM) and eight Damen LST1000 Landing Craft Heavy (LCH). All 18 LCMs are scheduled for delivery by 2032, while all LCH are to be delivered by 2038.
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| Austal will start the build programs for 8 landing craft heavy (LCH) (artwork above) and 18 landing craft medium (LCM) in 2026. Image: Austal --- |
The urgency and speed at which the SEA 3000 project has moved is due to the Surface Fleet Review that the Australian government commissioned in 2023, where the failure of the Arafura OPV program (mainly due to changing specifications) and the delays and cost growth in the Hunter-class saw the Australian government slash both programs in early 2024. With the RAN’s workhorse Anzac-class frigates now approaching 30 years of age and due for retirement, a near Military off-the-shelf (MOTS) solution was sought - the first batch of Australian 06FFM frigates should be delivered with few changes - it was confirmed in November 2025 that they will be equipped with SeaRAM and NSM, and will likely use the RAN's standard CEAFAR AESA radar system.
Setting up the Henderson Precinct as a major military shipbuilding hub has major domestic political bonuses for the ruling Australian Labour Party (ALP), but with Japan relaxing military export rules, Australia has now positioned itself as a big military-industrial partner to Japan.
11 comments:
Hi,
here are some other military procurement efforts: NATO will replace its E-3 with Saabs GlobalEye.
After the US withdraw from financing the future fleet the decision trumped Boeing.
https://www.hartpunkt.de/nato-will-globaleye-von-saab-und-bombadier-beschaffen/ (German)
This is also related to the future Canadian submarine due to the GlobalEye based on the Canadian Bombardier Global 6000/6500 (that's about the range in nautical miles).
Regards,
MHalblaub
Thanks Pete and best wishes for Anzac Day tomorrow. The Australia Japan defense partnership makes good sense to me. Geography guarantees Japan’s interest in countering China is long term. Plus they have good engineering including shipbuilding.
There has been good procurement news. Japan and Germany have both signed agreements with Australia and Boeing re joint Ghostbat development and production. Japan:
https://aviationweek.com/defense/budget-policy-operations/australia-japan-collaborate-boeing-mq-28-ghost-bat
Germany:
https://www.boeing.com.au/news/2026/rheinmetall-boeing-partner-on-german-mq-28-ghost-bat
Conversely AUKUS news is actually getting worse. The latest US Congress report lists increasing production delays and now for the first tome a contractual delay.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-23/shipbuilding-contract-delays-could-affect-aukus-submarines/106596728
To dispel any doubt, France today said it would still provide subs if needed.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/france-open-to-selling-australia-submarines-if-aukus-collapses-20260423-p5zqkf.html
Hi MHalblaub at 4/24/2026 5:25 PM
If the GlobalEye https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombardier_Global_Express#Specifications ends up about 65% of the max takeoff weight of the E-7 Wedgetail https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_E-7_Wedgetail#Specifications then hopefully GlobalEye might be 65% of the E-7's operating cost.
Also the reliable non-US NATO countries can avoid reliance on the unreliable US ally (the E-7's maker). The US could ban exports of E-7s to non-US NATO in a pro Putin power play of the neo-Fascist Trump-Hegseth regime.
Cheers Pete
Australia's also getting new jamming gear:
"Raytheon confirmed that Australia has received last year its first Next
Generation Jammer pods to replace the ALQ-99 pods currently used by the
RAAF’s EA-18G Growlers."
Source:
https://theaviationist.com/2026/04/22/raytheon-confirms-delivery-next-generation-jammer-australia/
Hi Anonymous at 4/24/2026 9:21 PM
That is good news Japan and Germany have both signed agreements with Australia and Boeing re joint Ghostbat development and production. One concern I have is the unreliable US Trump government might be able to cast a veto blocking export of Ghostbat (with its US technology) to Japan and Germany.
Also good news at https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/france-open-to-selling-australia-submarines-if-aukus-collapses-20260423-p5zqkf.html specifically:
""Asked whether his nation would be willing to enter another submarine deal with Australia, French Trade Minister Nicolas Forissier said that France was “not looking at the past”.
“We will, of course, always be ready to [pursue] any partnership that would answer to the needs of Australia because we’re friends,” he told reporters in Sydney.
“We are open to develop any partnership because I think we, again, are very much like-minded. We have the same philosophy.”
A concern I have is the US inability to supply Virginias to Australia under AUKUS has already been evident for several years. Even so AUKUS then extends to the UK meeting its commitments stretching from the 2040s.
So basically when can an Australian Government formally declare AUKUS is unworkable and defunct? In 2040? And if Australia declares unworkabiliity would Australia have to pay $10s Billions compensation to its "senior" AUKUS partners, US and UK, for breach of contract?
Is the tentative French offer just a mirage, only actionable from the late 2030s?
Pete
Hi Pete,
I would personally like to see Singapore join the Ghostbat program but reckon it is highly unlikely.
TW
Hi TW at 4/27/2026 4:27 PM
Singapore might find Ghost Bats valuable force multipliers for its F-15E, F-16 and F-35 "mother" jets. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Singapore_Air_Force#Equipment
This would allow Singapore to perform missions with far fewer pilots who risk their lives in manned jets.
Their Ghost Bats could operate in the last 500nm dangerous/highly contested radii of action.
Cheers Pete
Dear Pete,
according to the bare aircraft the costs for a Global 6000 are half of a 737 - $60 m vs. $120 m. The E-7 could be refuelled via boom and the Global may just get a probe but the range is more than sufficient for Europa. The UK pays about $2 b for 5 E-7. That's $400 million per aircraft. On the other side France bought 2 GlobalEye for $1.3 billion.
Cheers,
MH
Hi MH at 5/01/2026 1:32 AM
The " the bare aircraft the costs for a Global 6000 are half of a 737 - $60 m vs. $120 m" is very favorable. But than the electronics fitout and expert aircrew make the costs between GlobalEye and E-7 more equivalent.
I originally assumed the E-7 had longer range than the GlobalEye but the (unrefueled) E-7 is only 3,500nm compared to the GlobalEye's 6,000nm.
Regards Pete
Hi Pete
It's been a while.
Here is a few recent Japanese military news.
1) The Type-25 Surface-to-Ship Missile (25SSM) has been officially deployed to the 2nd Artillery Brigade in Kyushu [1].
This was previously known as "the 12SSM-ER", and is said to have a range of over 1,000 km [2].
Since the 12SSM-ER's ground system cannot operate the missiles of the 12SSM or 88SSM [3], there had been speculation that the name would be changed upon formal deployment.
Furthermore, for the "New Surface-to-Ship / Surface-to-Surface precision-guided missile(New SSM)" currently under development, the results of the "Research on Elemental Technologies for a New Anti-Ship guided missile for island defense" will be utilized to modify the ground system of the 25SSM and develop a new missile capable of ground attacks [4][5].
(Note that the 25SSM is not capable of ground attacks.)
In my opinion, the 25SSM's ground system is, in effect, an initial production version of the "new SSM" ground system, and that the 25SSM's missile itself is a stopgap measure until the development of the "new SSM" missile and debugging of the ground system are complete.
2) The Type-25 Hypervelocity Glideing Projectile (25HGP) has been officially deployed to the Artillery School Unit in Fuji, Honshu [1].
This has been developed as the "High-speed glide missile for island defense (Block1 / Early deployment model)", and is reported to have a range of several hundred kilometers [6].
Although it was originally scheduled for deployment in FY2026, an announcement in August 2025 stated that deployment would be brought forward to within FY2025, along with the 25SSM, and it was deployed at the end of FY2025 (2025/03/31) [7].
For the advanced-capability variants (Block2A/B), ground systems and training rounds capable of live-fire training are scheduled to be manufactured by FY2027 [8], with Block2A slated for operational deployment in FY2027 and Block2B in FY2030 [9].
3) A production contract for the new submarine main battery "SLI" will be awarded in FY2026 [10].
Last month, the Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) released its FY2026 contract schedule.
The row 2459 of that lists "Submarine main battery (SLI) cell unit."
Considering that the row 2746 includes the entry "Submarine main battery (SLH) (for 08SS)", this "SLI" should be installed on the 09SS (11th Taigei).
This "SLI" was developed as a 2nd-generation submarine LIB through the "Research on high-efficiency power storage and supply system for submarines" project and is designed to achieve higher-density-installation within the battery compartment hileh enhancing safety [11].
[1]https://www.mod.go.jp/gsdf/assets/pdf/news/press/2026/20260331.pdf
[2]https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/local/kyushu/news/20260317-GYS1T00090/
[3]JGSDF Specification "Type 12 surface-to-ship missile advanced capability"
*Obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request
[4]https://www.mod.go.jp/j/policy/hyouka/seisaku/2023/pdf/jizen_13_honbun.pdf
[5]ATLA R&D Specification "New Surface-to-Ship / Surface-to-Surface Precision Guided Missile (Phase1)"
*Obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request
[6]https://www.47news.jp/13976896.html
[7]https://www.mod.go.jp/j/press/news/2025/08/29c.html
[8]ATLA R&D Specification "High-speed glide missile for island defense (advanced capability) (Phase1)"
*Obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request
[9]https://www.mod.go.jp/j/policy/hyouka/seisaku/2022/pdf/jizen_10_honbun.pdf
[10]https://www.mod.go.jp/atla/souhon/choutatsuyotei/r08_choutatsuyotei.xlsx
[11]https://warp.ndl.go.jp/20250801/20250801001909/https://www.mod.go.jp/atla/research/ats2024/pdf_exhi_pos/p-13.pdf
Best regards
wispywood2344
Welcome back wispywood2344 at 5/06/2026 1:12 PM
Thankyou for the updates on these Japanese weapon systems.
I'll turn the information into an article soon.
Cheers Pete
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