TSAMTO, May 28. Japan is starting official negotiations with New Zealand on the export of multipurpose advanced Mogami-class frigates (06FFM, Upgraded Mogami) manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI).
According to Kyodo News, this issue will be on the agenda of the first trilateral meeting of the defense ministers of Japan, Australia and New Zealand, scheduled on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on May 29-31, 2026.
The basis for the negotiations was Australia's choice of the Upgraded Mogami frigate for the SEA 3000 (General Purpose Frigate, GPF) program. The decision of the Australian government was announced on August 5, 2025: according to the results of a competitive tender, the MHI design was recognized as optimally meeting the requirements of the Australian Defense Forces in terms of timing and tactical and technical characteristics. The contract for the construction of the first three ships was signed on April 18, 2026 in Melbourne by Australian Defense Ministers Richard Marles and Japan's Shinjiro Koizumi. The total cost of the purchase program for 11 frigates is 10 billion. Australian dollars (about 6.5 billion US dollars). The first delivery is scheduled for December 2029, and the third ship is expected to join the fleet by 2034. The eight remaining units will be built at the Henderson Defense Precinct shipyard (Western Australia), which is a subsidiary of Austal.
The New Zealand Navy operates two ANZAC–class frigates, Te Kaha (commissioned on July 22, 1997) and Te Mana (commissioned on December 10, 1999). According to the New Zealand Ministry of Defense, most ships in the fleet will reach their design life limits in the mid-2030s. The replacement of frigates is qualified in the Defense Capability Plan of 2025 as a priority investment for the period 2029-2039.
Wellington's interest in the platform was officially announced in October 2025: Rear Admiral Garin Golding, Chief of Staff of the New Zealand Navy, confirmed Wellington's interest in acquiring an upgraded version of the Upgraded Mogami at a meeting with then Japanese Defense Minister G. Nakatani.
In parallel, the British Type 31 frigate (Inspiration class, project Arrowhead 140 by Babcock International) is being considered. The New Zealand Military Department has qualified both projects as "mature combat platforms" in relation to the requirements of the country's Navy. The decision on the final choice will be submitted by the Ministry of Defense to the Cabinet of Ministers no later than the end of 2027. At the same time, the government does not exclude the purchase of more than two frigates.
The Upgraded Mogami (06FFM) is an evolutionary development of the base frigate 30FFM. The total displacement is 6200 tons, the standard displacement is about 4,800 tons, the length is 142 m, the width is 17 m. The maximum speed is over 30 knots, and the range is 10,000 nautical miles.
The armament includes a 32-cell vertical launch launcher Mk.41 VLS (twice as large as on the base Mogami), anti–aircraft missiles (in the Japanese version - NSAM and A-SAM), anti-ship missiles (SSM Type-17), 127-mm artillery, anti-submarine warfare (GAS with towed antenna), as well as the possibility of basing an MH-60R class helicopter. The crew consists of 90 people, with the possibility of accommodating up to 138 people on board.
The Australian version provides for the installation of ESSM Block missiles.2, Mk-54 torpedoes and NSM anti-ship missiles instead of Japanese standard systems.
