Japanese Defense Minister Nobuaki Kishi will visit Australia starting on the 17th, and will hold talks with Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles. According to the arrangements disclosed so far, Kishi may also hold trilateral talks with Marles and New Zealand Defense Minister Chris Painkant, discussing topics such as the cooperation on 'Superior Grade' frigates, joint training, and defense equipment exports.
The core of this visit was not whether Australia would purchase Japanese warships—the deal was already finalized—but how to ensure that this project worth about 10 billion Australian dollars could be completed on time.
In August 2025, Australia chose the Japanese solution between Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' "Superior" upgrade model and Telsmith's MEKO A-200. In April 2026, both countries officially signed contracts for the first three frigates. According to the plan, Australia will ultimately receive 11 frigates: the first three will be built in Japan, with the first ship delivered in 2029 and becoming combat-ready in 2030; the remaining eight frigates are planned to be built at Hhenderson Shipyard in Western Australia.
Strictly speaking, Australia has not handed over the entire future surface fleet to Japan. Its navy will still retain the Horatio-class destroyers and build frigates designed by the UK. However, 11 Most Superior-class ships will replace the aging Anzac-class ships, becoming the main platforms with the largest number of units and the highest frequency of deployment in the future fleet.
Australia is foremost concerned with time.
The “Hunter-class” project was finalized in 2018, but the delivery of the first ship will not happen until 2032. Meanwhile, the currently in service “Anzac-class” ships are becoming increasingly obsolete. In comparison, Japan already has a mature production line for the “Sho.” class, capable of building about two ships per year. Japan even offered the production schedule originally intended for the Maritime Self-Defense Forces to Australia, allowing the Australian first ship to be in service about five years ahead of the original plan.
For a navy equipped with significant risks of equipment degradation, "being able to build it on schedule" is more important than the paper-based limits in performance.
Secondly, the term 'most senior' is very suitable for Australia's reality of having vast territorial waters and a small military force.
The enhanced-capability frigate can reach a range of 10,000 nautical miles, far exceeding the approximately 6,000 nautical miles of the Anzac-class frigates. Equipped with a 32-cell vertical launch system, it is capable of carrying out air defense, anti-ship, and anti-submarine missions. Although its displacement is nearly twice that of the Anzac-class frigates, it requires only about 92 crew members, compared to the approximately 170 required by the latter. For Australia, which has long faced a shortage of naval personnel, this means that the same number of people can man more warships.
The Japanese proposal also offers a compromise: the first three ships will be built quickly in Japan, avoiding delays at Australian shipyards; the remaining eight ships will be produced domestically, while still maintaining employment, shipbuilding capabilities, and logistical autonomy. The Australian side states that the Japanese proposal is comparable in terms of procurement costs to competitors, but has significantly lower total life-cycle costs.
Finally, this transaction is not just about buying ships, but also about choosing a secure partner for the next few decades.
Once the Australian Navy uses ships designed by Japan, both countries will need to work together on component supply, personnel training, maintenance support, software upgrades, and weapon integration. Joint exercises, intelligence exchanges, and operational coordination between the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and the Australian Army will also transform from political commitments into everyday requirements. Both Japan and Australia even hope that New Zealand will purchase similar ships, thereby establishing a common fleet standard that spans three countries.
Therefore, Australia chooses Japan not solely because of its advanced 'top-level' performance, but also because Japan offers speed, lower labor costs, a mature production line, and strategic trustworthiness.
What Australia actually offers to Japan is not just an order for 11 military ships, but a substantial part of the supply chain and combat system for Japan's future surface fleet. Thus, the 'quasi-alliance' between Japan and Australia is no longer just something stated in joint declarations, but has been integrated into the structure of each military ship.
