emirates7 - Australia and Japan today signed a contract worth AU$10 billion (US$7 billion) to supply Australia with warships, marking Tokyo’s largest military deal since lifting its arms export ban in 2014.

Richard Marles, Australian Minister of Defence, said in a statement that he signed the contracts with his Japanese counterpart, Shinjiro Koizumi, affirming both governments’ commitment to the successful implementation of the warship delivery program.

Under the agreement, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Japan will supply the Royal Australian Navy with three upgraded multi-mission frigates, which will be built in Japan starting in 2029, while eight additional frigates will be constructed in Australia.

For its part, the Japanese Ministry of Defence stated on X that Koizumi and Marles welcomed the signing of the multi-mission frigate contracts and confirmed the strengthening of bilateral defence relations between the two countries.

This deal comes as Australia recently announced its intention to raise its defence spending to 3% of GDP by 2033, compared to about 2% currently.