Australia, Japan ink multibillion-dollar warship deal

Japan agreed over the weekend on a deal to provide Australia’s navy with the first of almost a dozen stealth frigates, part of a wider military build-up by Canberra aimed at boosting its long-range firepower to deter China.



Under the deal announced in 2025 and billed as one of Japan’s biggest defence export deals since World War II, Australia will pay $ 7.1billion over the next 10 years to acquire the fleet of stealth frigates.



Japan’s Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi attended the signing of the contract to deliver the first three of the ships.



According to Australia’s Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy “This is the fastest acquisition for the Royal Australian Navy in peacetime,” .



Australia is striving to expand its fleet of major warships from 11 to 26 over the next decade.