CANBERRA, 18th April, 2026 (WAM) — Australia and Japan right this moment signed a contract value AU$10 billion (US$7 billion) to produce Australia with warships, marking Tokyo’s largest army deal since lifting its arms export ban in 2014.
Richard Marles, Australian Minister of Defence, stated in an announcement that he signed the contracts along with his Japanese counterpart, Shinjiro Koizumi, affirming each governments’ dedication to the profitable implementation of the warship supply program.
Under the settlement, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Japan will provide the Royal Australian Navy with three upgraded multi-mission frigates, which will likely be in-built Japan beginning in 2029, whereas eight extra frigates will likely be constructed in Australia.
For its half, the Japanese Ministry of Defence said on X that Koizumi and Marles welcomed the signing of the multi-mission frigate contracts and confirmed the strengthening of bilateral defence relations between the 2 international locations.
This deal comes as Australia just lately introduced its intention to boost its defence spending to three% of GDP by 2033, in comparison with about 2% at the moment.