“Moghami” .. A deal that enhances Japan’s confidence in developing defense partnerships with its neighbors

Senior Defense officials in Japan considered Australia the purchase of Japanese warships, a “model” to export integrated military systems in the future, as Tokyo views Southeast Asian countries as possible destination.

“The decision of Australia was chosen by a Japanese warship for the category of frigates widespread approval among the Japanese industry, so we believe that this decision will have positive repercussions, and it will generate great momentum among local companies, given the state of Mughami frigate as a model.”

Enhance confidence

Canberra plans to buy 11 developed frigates from the “Maghami” category, where the Japanese company “Mitsubishi Heavy Industries” chose instead of the German company “Tesenkroub Marin Systems”, as a favorite partner, to replace the old warships of the Australian navy “Anzak”, while the largest defensive contract is expected to be concluded by Tokyo at all.

This decision represented a qualitative shift in the Japanese defense industry, and contributed to erasing the memories of Tokyo’s failure to sell submarines to Australia in 2016.

The Japanese official added, “We hope this success will give confidence to the broader Japanese industry to explore the chances of exporting weapons in the future,” while local companies seek to overcome their relative experience in implementing large capabilities contracts for other customers other than the local defense forces.

The enhancement of this confidence may be extremely important, in light of the Tukeyo’s endeavor to enhance industrial defense cooperation with its main allies and partners, including Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam.

The official added: “The way of our thinking does not differ when we look at Australia or regional partner countries in Southeast Asia, and our biggest goal is to create a favorable security environment in this region, and we see that the exchange of equipment is important tools in this endeavor,” noting that “sharing assets means that we can rely on each other, and work together more closely.”

Philippines and Indonesia

Meanwhile, Manila expressed interest in obtaining small used warships from the “Apocoma” category, which belongs to the Japanese Marine Defense Force, while it will be another export of major naval equipment, as Japan aims to enhance the defensive capabilities of its similar trends. Tokyo is scheduled to take out the first ship of six “Apocoma” ships from service in 2027.

At the same time, it is known that Indonesia, which has also expressed interest in the improved “Mughami” frigate, is also studying the purchase of used submarines from the “Sorio” category. However, it is still unclear how Japan will be able to export used military equipment under its strict regulations to export weapons, officially known as the three principles of transporting defense equipment and technology, or whether more review of regulations is needed.

The improved “Mughami” can only be exported according to the current guidelines because it falls within the category of “joint development and production”, which is usually dedicated to new equipment. This still requires the approval of the National Security Council, which determines each case separately.

However, the choice of Australia for “Mitsubishi Heavy Industries” does not mean the end of the process, as the Japanese defensive official said: “This decision means that we can now focus on securing the contract instead of the same competition.”

However, there is still a lot to be discussed, including technology transfer, integrated supply chains, maintenance arrangements, and the general level of Australian participation.

The Japanese official added: “The choice of (Mughami) was a great advertisement, but the way for us is still full of challenges to reach the conclusion of the contract.”

Bind contracts

Canberra aims to conclude binding and commercial contracts with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and the Japanese government early next year, while the 10 -year -old frigate plan, which costs $ 10 billion, requires Australian (6.48 billion dollars), known as the “C3000” project, to hand over the first war ship by 2029 and enter service the following year.

The first three ships will be built in Japan, and the remaining ships are manufactured in the Henderson area in Perth, where the Australian company Austal will build them, and it is likely that the first three ships are likely to be made in a ships of the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Company in Nagasaki, along with the ships that were already asked for the benefit of the Japanese Naval Defense Forces.

In the event of an additional production capacity, Japanese officials reported that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has already conveyed “Mughami” manufacturing techniques to other shipbuilding basins, including Yokohama, and Tamano, in Okayama Governorate.

The success of Japan’s offer is not only shed on the extent of the development achieved by its local industry during the past decade, but also highlights the importance of close cooperation with the government for the success of companies in the international defense market.

For the first time, Japan has established a joint promotional committee between the public and private sectors to support a defensive export project; It is an approach that officials say may be taken into account in similar efforts in the future.

But why did Tokyo intensify her participation? At a time when the formation of the regional security environment and the deepening of security relations is among the reasons for the export of governments to military equipment, such transformations play another major role, as it helps in maintaining an independent and innovative defensive industry, which is something that Japan realized as a national security issue.

Strategic messages

Japan believes that in a state of conflict, the defensive industrial capacity of Japan should be able to meet the rapid increase in demand, which can only be achieved through a solid defensive industrial base, and if Japan loses this ability, or its ability to develop advanced technologies, it may eventually become excessively dependent on foreign governments and defensive industries.

While the most appropriate Maghami ship for the Australian Navy was considered based on its capabilities, it is almost certain that factors such as the growing geostrateate compatibility between Tokyo and Kenbra, and the need for a greater amount of operational compatibility with allies and regional partners, in addition to plans to deepen industrial defense cooperation, also had a major impact on the decision -making process.

Although these aspects are not attached directly to the war ship, it is very important in terms of collective defensive position and strategic messages, as it refers to opponents such as China and North Korea that Tokyo and Canberra will work together in the foreseeable future.

However, the government’s role was also important, as experts say that the most convincing factor in Tokyo’s offer is its promises to hand over the first three frigates on time. About “Gaban Times”

Joint development and production

Magomi frigate. Reuters

The commitment to the “Mughami” frigate was not possible until after the Japanese government explicitly allowed the development and joint production of the groups, which calmed down concerns about the restrictions imposed under the arms export controls. “Compared to 2016, the government and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries were more pre -emptive this time,” said James Shouf, Japanese defense expert. They understood what matters to the customer in terms of the delivery schedule, the performance of the ship, the costs of the life cycle, etc., and the market for themselves more successfully. ”

• The first three ships will be built in Japan, and the remaining ships are manufactured in Henderson in Perth, where Austall Austall will build.