Australia and Japan have signed their largest-ever defense agreement, worth A$10bn (US$6.5 bn), for the production of 11 Mogami-class frigates for the Royal Australian Navy, Al Jazeera reported.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said the stealth warships will significantly boost naval capability, offering longer range and quadrupling missile capacity. Three frigates will be built in Japan by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, with eight to follow in Australia.
Marles called it a “very significant moment” in Australia-Japan ties. Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said the deal is a “major step” in Japan’s defense cooperation, marking its biggest arms export since lifting its military export ban in 2014, according to Al Jazeera.
