Australia is Going Japanese
no Vapors needed
![r/WarshipPorn - [1286×909] Translated overview of the "New FFM" (improved Mogami-class, or 06FFM) frigate. The Australian government has reportedly confirmed its intention to adopt the 06FFM proposal on August 4, 2025, pending final negotiations, with an expected first delivery date from MHI of 2029.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!yPMs!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fce01fd78-2293-4aab-a901-a8159dc20743_1286x909.png "r/WarshipPorn - [1286×909] Translated overview of the \"New FFM\" (improved Mogami-class, or 06FFM) frigate. The Australian government has reportedly confirmed its intention to adopt the 06FFM proposal on August 4, 2025, pending final negotiations, with an expected first delivery date from MHI of 2029.")
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has made its decision, and it’s a good one.
Via Mike Yeo at Breaking Defense;
Australia has selected Japan’s improved Mogami-class frigate design for its future fleet of general-purpose frigates, in a deal with further cements ties between the two US Indo-Pacific allies and gives Japan its first major defense export.
“Following a rigorous and competitive tender process, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ Mogami-class frigate was assessed as best able to quickly meet the capability requirements and strategic needs of the Australian Defence Force (ADF),” said the Australian Defence Department in a media release.
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) will acquire 11 frigates under the $10 billion AUS ($6.5 billion US) program, with the first three ships to be built in Japan and the remainder to be built in Western Australia…
…the Japanese design was the best option for the RAN following a rigorous selection process, which saw the Mogami-class beat out competition from German shipbuilder TKMS with its MEKO A200 design.
They made a good choice here. Anyone who has worked with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) knows they are a quality operation.
The Mogami Class at 4,800 tons is a well-equipped multi-mission heavy frigate that brings a lot to the party when it comes to weapons. This version is the “Flight II” that has 32 instead of 16 MK-41 VLS cells.
1 × 5 in (127 mm) Mk-45 Mod 4 naval gun
1 × SeaRAM
Simplified mine laying equipment
32 × Mk-41 VLS
Compare that to the USA’s ‘modified’ FREMM, the 7,300 tons Constellation Class FFG (we think).
1 x Mk 110 57 mm gun
32 Mark 41 VLS cells with:
16 × anti-ship weapons (likely Naval Strike Missile)
1 × SeaRAM
Well done by Australia. This agreement has a deeper effect on the whole region. The USA has a defense treaty with Japan. The USA also has one with Australia. Japan and Australia do not have one between the two of them, but that’s OK. Should the USA be confronted with a Great Pacific War in the coming years, the smart bet is that we will have the JMSDF supporting out right flank, and RAN covering our left flank. The closer these two nations are with the USA and each other, the better for everyone…and the entire region, really.
This is a significant move for Japan too, stepping into the international defense market like this. Very good.
As a final note, no one has been interested in license building any warships designed by the US Navy since the bureaucracy, processes, leadership, and mindset that washed into our Navy after Goldwater-Nichols’ secondary effects took hold (see Charles F. Adams DDG as well as Knox and OHP frigates). Germany is too far away and has a higher Chinese exposure risk than Japan.
Just a great choice.
Now is the time for the USA to make serious progress with AUKUS to solidify that, yes, the USA can be a reliable partner as well.
Kill the current Constellation, replace with these.
AND DON'T F[CK WITH THE DESIGN. IF THERE NEED TO BE CHANGES, HAVE THE JAPANESE MAKE THEM!
Isn't it nice when a country's politicians and policymakers who deal with naval matters actually know something about... well, ships & stuff? When they're not just winging it after a briefing by some 26-yr old staffer. Not making decisions controlled by bumper stickers.
Per Cdr Sal's navalist point, USA used to be like that... Say what you will about, eg, FDR (that he was an economic ignoramus in many ways), but he did undserstand ships. FDR was a ship modeler in his youth, as one can see in many examples at his library in Hyde Park; a self-taught naval architect in some ways. He was a scholar of the US Navy in the Civil War, whose Operation Anaconda was the strategic DNA for the submarine war contra Japan in WWII. In his young adulthood, FDR strove to be much like "Uncle Teddy" (aka Theodore), hence the tenure as Assistant Secnav under President Wilson, and a massive, Big Navy learning curve to the young Columbia Law grad who didn't like practicing law. Later, as president, people joked (rooted in truth) that the US Navy had "two Secretaries of the Navy." ie, Frank Knox had FDR looking over his shoulder.
Post-FDR, Eisenhower wasn't a Navy guy (obviously), but he sure understood logistics, which was good enough. Then came Navy-guy Presidents... Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter... And Reagan-Bush41 knew a few Navy things as well.
Point is... For the past century & more, USA has been blessed by leadership who had a decent grasp of naval matters. But the last 33 yrs or so? Ugh. And it shows.