On November 28, the Japanese government announced that it has decided to allow joint development and production of Australia’s new general purpose frigates, if the Australian government selects the upgraded Mogami-class frigate, Naval News reports.
The decision was made after it held a National Security Council meeting and deliberated based on its three principles for the transfer of defense equipment and technology and the operational guidelines. As a pacifist nation, Japan has long prohibited most arms exports. Thus, if the FFM export is realized, it will be the first defense equipment transfer case involving a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) ship in history.
“As stated in the National Defense Strategy, Japan is building a close cooperative relationship with Australia as a ‘special strategic partner’ in the Indo-Pacific region, second only to Japan-U.S. defense cooperation,” the Japanese government said in an epochmaking statement.
“Based on this policy, this joint development and production project will contribute to significantly improving interoperability and compatibility with Australia, strengthen the foundation for shipbuilding and maintenance in the Indo-Pacific region, and improve the future capabilities of Japan’s ships, and is of great significance to Japan’s national security,” it also said.
As the military threat from China rapidly increases in the Indo-Pacific region, Japan and Australia are closer than ever before. Tokyo is striving to make the upgraded Mogami-class export a success and further strengthen the bilateral relationship.
The Japanese government made the announcement after the Australian government shortlisted Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) over Spanish and South Korean contenders to build the Royal Australian Navy’s future general-purpose frigates.
Australia plans to acquire 11 new general purpose frigates to complement the country’s combat-ready fleet of warships by replacing the eight aging Anzac-class frigates commissioned in the 1990s and early 2000s. Under the decade-long general purpose frigate program known as Project Sea 3000, the Australian government plans to ensure the RAN “is equipped with a larger and more lethal surface combatant fleet to respond to our strategic circumstances,” the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) on said on November 25.
Australia’s new general purpose frigates “will be equipped for undersea warfare and local air defence in order to secure maritime trade routes and our northern approaches,” it added.
The first three ships will be built offshore, with the first to be delivered to the RAN in 2029 and enter service in 2030. The remaining eight will be built at Henderson shipyard in Western Australia.
TKMS has offered its MEKO A-200 design. Meanwhile, Japan has pitched the upgraded Mogami-class, or New FFM (also known as 06FFM), according to the Japanese government statement. As Naval News previously reported, New FFM is an Air warfare frigate for Japan.
MHI has shown their air warfare frigate design for Japan dubbed “FMF-AAW” by MHI, which is the New FFM. The “AAW” in FFM-AAW stands for Anti Air Warfare, and taking advantage of the extra space created by the larger hull, the number of “cells,” which also serve as missile launchers, has been doubled from the Mogami-class’s 16 to 32.
The JMSDF plans to equip the Mogami-class’s Vertical Launch System (VLS), which has a smaller number of cells, with only the Type 07 Vertical Launching Torpedo Rocket, a weapon that mounts a torpedo on the tip of a missile and can attack submarines at longer distances compared to normal torpedoes. There are no plans to equip it with medium-range ship-to-air missiles such as the Standard Missile.
The FFM-AAW, on the other hand, has an increased number of cells, creating room to mount missiles such as the Standard Missile, giving it greater anti-aircraft combat capabilities than the Mogami-class.
The Japanese government said in the statement as follows:
“06FFM will be engaged in constant, continuous, multi-layered intelligence-gathering and surveillance activities in the surrounding waters during normal times, as well as international peace cooperation activities overseas. In times of emergency, it can also be utilized for a variety of activities such as anti-submarine warfare, anti-aircraft warfare, and anti-surface warfare. It is a multi-purpose escort ship that has been equipped with long-range missiles and enhanced anti-submarine warfare capabilities compared to the Mogami-class escort ships, which also have anti-mine warfare capabilities that were previously only performed by minesweeping vessels.”
“’Upgraded Mogami’ is superior in low signatures design, high speed(30+kt), automation and low manning (approx.90), improved air defense capability and survivability, reduced lifecycle cost, mine hunting capability etc.,” according to one Japanese MoD document presented at the Maritime/Air/Space Technologies (MAST) Australia 2024 event held in November 19-21 in Adelaide.
The JMSDF plans to build a total of 12 Mogami-class frigates until the fiscal year 2023, with plans to acquire a new class of 12 FFMs from 2024 until 2028. The Japanese defense ministry said the new-class FFM will be fitted with longer-range missiles, enhanced anti-submarine capabilities, and improved capabilities for various maritime operations. Specifically, the ship-launched, improved version of the Type 12 SSM and the new ship-to-air guided missile (or simply A-SAM) will be equipped with the new-class FFM, defense officials said.
At the Indian Ocean Defence & Security Conference 2024 (IODS24) held in July 2024 in Perth, Western Australia, MHI showed not only the default configuration of the New FFM featuring the prominent “Unicorn” integrated mast but also two alternate mast configurations. As Naval News understands, one of these caters to the requirements of a notional export customer.
