Latest news with #DefenseSecurityEquipmentInternational
Asahi Shimbun
05-08-2025
- Business
- Asahi Shimbun
Australia awards navy frigate contract to Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy
A mock model of the FFM "Upgraded Mogami" class is displayed during the Defense Security Equipment International (DSEI) Japan at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, east of Tokyo, Japan May 21, 2025. (REUTERS) SYDNEY--Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will deliver Australia's new A$10 billion ($6.5 billion) navy frigate program, Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said on Tuesday. The frigate contract, expected to be signed by the end of the year, will be the biggest Australian defense purchase since the government agreed to build nuclear-powered submarines with the United States and Britain in 2023, and one of Japan's biggest defense export deals. 'It's going to be really important in terms of giving our navy the capability to project, and impactful projection is at the heart of the strategic challenge,' Marles said, adding it was 'a very significant moment in the bilateral relationship between Australia and Japan.' MHI's Mogami frigate was selected over German company ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems' MEKO A-200 in a meeting of the government's national security committee on Monday. The upgraded Mogami-class frigate was capable of launching long-range missiles and had a range of up to 10,000 nautical miles, compared to Australia's current Anzac Class frigates, which had a range of around 6,000 nautical miles, Marles said. It also operated with a smaller crew than the Anzac class. The government said in 2024 it would spend up to A$10 billion for the general-purpose frigates to replace the Anzac Class. They will be equipped for undersea warfare and air defense to secure maritime trade routes and Australia's northern approaches. It says the first three general-purpose frigates will be built offshore, with the remainder built in Western Australia. The first frigate is expected to be delivered in 2029.
Asahi Shimbun
10-06-2025
- Business
- Asahi Shimbun
Japanese frigate arrives in Australia as Tokyo bids for defense deal
A mock model of the FFM "Upgraded Mogami" class is displayed during the Defense Security Equipment International (DSEI) Japan at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, east of Tokyo, Japan May 21, 2025. (REUTERS) NEWCASTLE, Australia--A state-of-the-art Japanese warship has arrived in Australia as part of a high-stakes campaign to secure a $6.5 billion contract to build the country's next fleet of general-purpose frigates. The JS Yahagi, a Mogami-class stealth frigate from Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force, is docked in Darwin in Australia's Northern Territory in what appears a symbolic and strategic move aimed at strengthening defense ties with Australia and showcasing Japanese naval technology. Japan's bid, led by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, was short-listed in November for the Royal Australian Navy's SEA 3000 frigate project and is competing against Germany's MEKO A-200 offered by Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems. The Australian Government will select a preferred design later this year, with construction for 11 new vessels slated to begin the following year. 'We will go through the process of assessing those bids, both very impressive. We intend to make a decision in relation to that this year,' Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles said during his visit to Indonesia last week. 'We intend to make a decision as quickly as we can, which means, before the end of this year.' As part of its military buildup, Japan is pushing to strengthen its largely domestic defense industry by participating in joint development, including a next-generation fighter jet with Britain and Italy, and promoting foreign sales like the Mogami-class ships. In a sign of its commitment and heavy investment Japan has pledged to prioritize the RAN's order over its own naval procurement. The project not only serves to further deepen cooperation between Japan and Australia but also to enhance Japan's warship capabilities, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani has said. The Japanese Mogami-class design boasts advanced combat systems, anti-submarine and anti-air warfare capabilities, and mine countermeasure operations — all operated by a lean crew of around 90, helping to address ongoing recruitment challenges in the Australian Navy. The vessel's commanding officer, Masayoshi Tamura, said the ship's smaller crew was an aim of the Mogami-class ship. 'The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force thought we need stealth, and less people, and a little bit smaller ship,' Tamura told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The JS Yahagi's visit to Darwin comes amid intensifying strategic cooperation between Canberra and Tokyo, both of which have emphasized the importance of maritime safety and security of sea lanes. The frigate's arrival is also seen as a gesture of Japan's growing role in regional security and its desire to align more closely with key partners like Australia. In September 2024, Australia and Japan agreed to increase joint military training exercises to address shared concerns of China's incursions into Japanese airspace and territorial waters. Two months later, defense ministers from Australia, Japan and the U.S. held tripartite talks in Darwin to reaffirm their commitment to strengthening security ties and planning for joint military operations in northern Australia. Japanese marine units are also now included in annual training rotations of U.S. Marines in Darwin.
AllAfrica
25-05-2025
- Business
- AllAfrica
Japan flexes military muscle at biggest-ever defense expo
This year's Japan's Defense Security Equipment International (DSEI) exhibition and conference, held from May 21-23 at Makuhari Messe near Tokyo, was the largest ever, attracting 471 companies, 169 from Japan and 302 from the US, the UK and 30 other countries. Reflecting the rapid advance of Japan's arms industry and the country's growing contribution to regional security and international military cooperation, this year's event was about 60% larger than last year's and about twice the size of the one held in 2023. A year ago, US Forces Japan Strategic Relations Officer Tim Haffner noted that 'DSEI brought industry, policy, and strategic leaders together in a collaborative forum to discuss regional security issues for the first time in Japan. This was a pivotal event, signaling Japan as a leader in defense technology and security partnership.' This year's turnout demonstrates that it most certainly was. Billed as 'the only large-scale, fully integrated defense event in the country,' the exhibition featured a very wide range of defense products, from ammunition and armored vehicles to communications and target identification systems, field medical supplies, and small, medium and heavy caliber weapons. Models of Japan's Mogami warship, underwater drones, railgun and Type-12 missiles attracted a lot of attention, as did the GCAP (Global Combat Air Program) next-generation fighter jet being developed by Japan, the UK and Italy. For Japan's Ministry of Defence and defense industry, it was an unprecedented marketing opportunity. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba visited and spoke at the exhibition, the first sitting Japanese prime minister to do so. 'We are currently facing the most severe and complex security environment since the end of the Second World War,' he said. 'Today's Ukraine could be East Asia tomorrow.' Minister of Defense Gen Nakatani, who delivered a keynote address at the conference, said that he hoped the event would 'provide a new opportunity for cooperation and exchange between national delegations and companies, help sustain defense industry development, drive innovation and promote peace and stability.' Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) executive Katsuyuki Nabeta told the press that, 'With today's increasingly uncertain security environment, I believe we must respond not just domestically, but with a broader international perspective. We are pleased to have the opportunity to showcase our technologies and reach a wider audience.' MHI is the prime contractor for Mogami-class frigates and the leading Japanese company in the GCAP project. BAE Systems and Leonardo are its British and Italian counterparts. The conference, which also ran for three days, also included presentations by senior defense officials, ambassadors and defense industry executives from Japan, the US, the UK, Italy, Germany, Australia and Singapore. They addressed the issues of maintaining stability in the Indo-Pacific, keeping pace with emerging threats, developing new technologies, strengthening the defense industrial base and enhancing defense industry cooperation, cybersecurity, the use of AI to improve decision-making on the battlefield and expanding surveillance capabilities in space. One section of the conference was dedicated to the progress of the GCAP and related supply chain opportunities. Senior executives from the GCAP Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency and International Government Organization, Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co (the umbrella organization for Japanese participation in the project), BAE Systems and Leonardo spoke on this topic, demonstrating its importance. In an article entitled 'Doubts about Trump hang in background of weapons show,' Japan's Asahi Shimbun reported that an unnamed Japanese Defense Ministry source had said that 'Trump's unpredictability has created unease about relying on US-made weapons and security arrangements,' and that 'European countries in particular are beginning to seek security that does not depend on the United States, and they are likely to move away from the US in arms trading.' Speaking at the event, the German ambassador to Japan, Petra Sigmund, said that, 'Germany is increasingly looking to Japan as an arms provider, whom we can trust as a co-developer with similar strengths and similar needs. Also, as a potential procurement partner, in order to be able to scale up production to cut time and to reduce cost.' Sigmund added that Germany is particularly eager to collaborate in the development of 'unmanned systems, drones, stand-off weapons, missiles, air defense, cyberspace, as well as maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.' He also noted that, 'Since 2021, Germany has gradually increased its security engagement here in the [Indo-Pacific] region. We have sent naval vessels, participated in multinational naval and air force exercises both in Japan, Australia and in India.' Professor Mohd Faiz Abdullah, chairman of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies of Malaysia, provided a different perspective. The great powers, he said, are conducting 'minilaterals,'which they claim are for 'global governance, but it's about containment really,' and 'not conducive to peace and stability.' The world, Abdullah concluded, is entering a period of 'unfettered competition…where a lot of parties are going for the killing zone.' But Lieutenant General Sir Tom Copinger-Symes, Deputy Commander of UK Strategic Command, stated that, 'We must move beyond transactional relationships between defense and industry… We need to redraw the boundaries of national security… We now live in what we could describe as a state of persistent competition, punctuated by episodic crises, and under the constant shadow of potential major conflict… we must innovate together, or we will lose together.' Meanwhile, on May 21, a symposium on the topic of Japan's defense industry was held at the Global Front conference facility at Meiji University in Tokyo. Led by military historian Professor Atsushi Koketsu, the symposium featured an address by Professor Christopher Hughes of the University of Warwick, UK, on the topic 'Japan's Defence Industrial Strategy and Fighter Aircraft Production: Striving for Tier-One Status.' Starting with the observation that Japan has previously been seen as an exemplary model of a non-great power able to indigenize defence technology, Hughes stated that it clearly maintains this ambition. Despite anti-militaristic constraints, including Article 9 of its Constitution, which renounces 'war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes,' post-WWII limits on weapons production and arms export bans, Japan has consistently maintained the following rationales for defense production: Deterrence capabilities and specific defense needs Bargaining power in its alliance with the US and internationally Self-sufficiency and ability to respond to national emergencies Industrial policy through dual-use technology Hughes emphasized that Japanese policymakers use 'techno-nationalism' to avoid second-tier status. At the same time, Japan limited its defense budget by embedding the defense sector into its civilian sector. This allowed it to avoid the creation of a military-industrial complex, but also led to fragmentation, inefficiency and low profitability, while export restrictions cut off access to international cooperation and markets. Serious attempts to rectify these defects began with the adoption of 'Three Principles on Defense Equipment Transfers' under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2014. These allowed arms transfers if they contributed to 'the active promotion of peace, international cooperation, or Japan's security,' provided they were not destined for countries involved in conflict, with onward shipment to third parties subject to Japanese government control. The next big step in Japan's military reform came in December 2022, when the cabinet of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida approved a new National Security Strategy. A Ministry of Foreign Affairs announcement noted that 'the very foundation of the international order is being shaken and the world stands at a historic crossroads… [with Japan] finding itself in the midst of the most severe and complex security environment since the end of WWII…' The new National Security Strategy was accompanied by two other documents, the National Defense Strategy and the Defense Buildup Program. The latter includes building up the capabilities of Japan's Self-Defense Forces in the areas of stand-off defense, integrated air and missile defense, unmanned defense and cross-domain capabilities, including ground, maritime, air, space, cyber and electromagnetic operations. The Japanese government also committed itself to raising the defense budget from 1% to 2% of GDP by 2027, increased weapons systems procurement as a percentage of the budget, raised profit margins on defense contracts to stop private companies from abandoning the sector and stepped up defense cooperation with Europe, Australia and Southeast Asia. Freed from previous limits, Japanese defense contractors began to actively pursue export contracts, some small – e.g., patrol boats for the Philippines and Vietnam – and some large. An attempt to sell Soryu-class submarines to Australia fell through. Attempts to sell Mogami-class frigates to Australia and Indonesia are underway. Hughes also put considerable emphasis on GCAP, noting that it is an equal partnership with full technology sharing and 'freedom to modify.' While others have expressed doubts, he believes that the British government is committed to the project, a view that received support at the Japan-Italy-UK leaders meeting last November. Hughes has been pursuing the subject for a long time. More than 20 years ago, he published 'Japan's Re-emergence as a 'Normal' Military Power?' while his latest book is entitled 'Japan as a Global Military Power: New Capabilities, Alliance Integration, Bilateralism-Plus.' Follow this writer on X: @ScottFo83517667
