Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will deliver the first of Australia's new navy frigates under a A$10 billion ($6.5 billion) deal, Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said on Tuesday. T

Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries won a multi-billion dollar deal to build a fleet of advanced naval frigates for Australia, boosting Tokyo’s ambitions to become a major exporter of military equipment and develop its defense sector.

The Australian Government is accelerating the delivery of a larger and more lethal surface combatant fleet with the selection of the upgraded Japanese Mogami-class frigate as the preferred platform for the Royal Australian Navy’s future fleet of general purpose frigates.