The Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Mogami-class frigate Kumano is docked at Singapore’s Changi Naval Base during a maritime defense exhibition in May 2023. | REUTERS
By Gabriel Dominguez
STAFF WRITER – May 29, 2026
New Zealand aims to decide before the end of next year whether to acquire Japan’s upgraded Mogami-class warships to replace its aging frigates, Defense Minister Chris Penk told The Japan Times on Friday, highlighting interoperability with Australia as a factor in the deliberations.
“We are conducting due diligence to get to a point that, in about 12 months or perhaps a bit longer, the New Zealand government would be in a position to make a choice between the two down-selected options: Japan’s Mogami class or the U.K.’s Type 31 frigate,” Penk said in an exclusive interview.
Speaking on the margins of the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore, the minister said the New Zealand Navy’s two Anzac-class frigates — both commissioned in the late 1990s — are expected to reach the end of their operational lives in the mid-2030s.
To meet that timeline, “it would be in the window of 2029 to 2039 that we would go through the process of acquiring these frigates,” Penk said, noting that the program would include negotiations, construction, delivery and commissioning as part of the navy’s broader fleet renewal planning.
Developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for the Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF), the Mogami has emerged as a growing export success following Australia’s recent selection of an upgraded version of the design for its future general-purpose frigate program.
Last month, Tokyo signed a deal to supply the first three of a planned fleet of 11 upgraded Mogami warships to the Australian Navy, marking the largest defense export contract in Japan’s postwar history.
For decades, Australia and New Zealand have operated closely aligned maritime forces through their shared use of the Anzac-class frigate. Building a similar level of interoperability with Japan’s Mogami-class frigate could offer a significant operational advantage for a small navy like New Zealand’s.
Penk said Australia’s decision had increased Wellington’s interest in the Japanese warship, given the close operational relationship between the two countries’ navies.
“We’re staying closely in touch with our Australian friends, with them having moved down the process of acquiring Mogami-class frigates,” he said.
The defense chief noted that the close ties make alignment practical, particularly in terms of supply chains, training and joint exercises, as well as the shared geographic context of operating in the same region.
“If we can be interoperable with Australia, this opens up a wide range of possibilities for personnel training, sharing resources such as spare parts and training systems and for exercising and operating alongside each other more effectively,” he said.
The Mogami’s smaller crew size would be another advantage, potentially easing workforce pressures in a country that has struggled to retain skilled military personnel.
But that’s not all. The 2029–2039 procurement window for replacing New Zealand’s aging Anzac fleet appears to align neatly with the production ramp-up of the upgraded Mogami frigate, creating a low-risk opportunity for Wellington to effectively piggyback on Australia’s broader naval modernization program.
New Zealand Defense Minister Chris Penk speaks during an interview on the sidelines of the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore on Friday. | 1000010320
With Australia expected to take delivery of its first Japanese-built Mogami in the late 2020s before shifting production to Western Australia around 2030, New Zealand could insert its own acquisition into a mature, already-running supply chain just as its current frigates approach their end-of-life in the mid-2030s.
This alignment would reduce design and integration risk, avoid any capability gap, and enable the New Zealand Navy to immediately benefit from shared training pipelines, maintenance infrastructure and spare-parts logistics alongside Canberra from the outset.
Penk’s remarks come as the MSDF’s Mogami-class frigate Kumano made a port call to Wellington last week, sailing in a convoy with the New Zealand Navy’s Te Mana frigate.
The visit provided the country’s leadership with a rare, hands-on opportunity to assess the warship class.
“I was able to go on board, along with various other key players on the New Zealand side, and had the opportunity to interact with the Japanese naval officers and their ship’s company,” Penk said. “It was helpful to get a tour of the ship and gain a sense of the capabilities it provides for Japan — and potentially, from New Zealand’s perspective as well.”
The frigate competition unfolds against a backdrop of deepening bilateral ties between Wellington and Tokyo. In December, the partners signed an information security agreement and a logistics arrangement allowing their armed forces to share fuel, food and services — moves intended to enhance interoperability and facilitate greater bilateral and multilateral military activities.
Wellington’s rising engagement forms part of a reset in New Zealand’s foreign and defense policy as the country grows increasingly concerned about international security tensions, with the government of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon becoming more vocal about China’s assertiveness, including in the Pacific.
Penk linked New Zealand’s naval modernization plans to Wellington’s broader strategy of “impactful deterrence,” which emphasizes closer cooperation with allies and partners alongside strengthening domestic military capabilities.
“New Zealand needs to play its part,” Penk said, citing recent increases in defense spending aimed at reversing “historic underinvestment.”
In April last year, Wellington announced defense spending commitments of 12 billion New Zealand dollars ($6.92 billion) over the next four years, including NZ$9 billion in new funding, as it moves toward a defense budget equal to 2% of gross domestic product by 2032–33.
Penk highlighted several advanced defense research and industrial sectors where New Zealand and Japan are actively exploring cooperation.
“From New Zealand’s perspective, I think we can bring to the table space capability, with frequent launches happening from New Zealand at the moment,” Penk said, noting the country’s growing role in commercial launches due to its geography and clear weather conditions.
He also pointed to New Zealand’s “burgeoning drone industry,” noting that locally developed unmanned aerial systems are already being deployed in support of Ukraine.
“We know that Japan is also developing different capabilities along similar lines, so there will be an opportunity for us to partner and learn from each other,” he said.
Cooperation with Japan could also extend through the AUKUS security partnership involving the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. In 2024, reports emerged that New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and Canada were being considered for participation in AUKUS Pillar II advanced capabilities cooperation.
Projects under this pillar include areas such as hypersonics, anti-submarine warfare and cyberweapons, as well as quantum computing, electronic warfare and artificial intelligence.
However, Penk stressed that no decision has been made on New Zealand’s participation.
“The position of the New Zealand government is that we are interested in being part of those conversations,” he said.
“As a starting point, we want to understand exactly what might be on the table,” he added. “Then we’ll be in a position to consider whether that’s something we would enter into formally.”