Australia says it has accepted a Japanese company's bid for a lucrative and hotly contested contract to build Australian naval vessels, expected to be worth 10 billion Australian dollars ($6.5 billion

The Australian government aims to sign binding, commercial contracts with Mitsubishi Heavy and the Japanese government in 2026.

The Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group announced Tuesday that the Australian government has chosen it to build a new fleet of warships for the nation's navy.