“By integrating SeaRAM on the Royal Australian Navy’s new surface combatants, Australia gains a proven, highly effective terminal air and missile defense layer for its future fleet,” said Barbara Borganovi, president of Naval Power at Raytheon.
What Raytheon will supply under the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries contract
Raytheon has been selected to furnish SeaRAM systems for Australia’s Improved Mogami-class frigates under a contract awarded by Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI). Under the deal, Raytheon will supply SeaRAM launchers, Blast Test Vehicles, and technical services to support installation and systems testing, with deliveries expected to begin in late 2028. MHI is building the first three of eleven Australian frigates as part of Project SEA3000 General Purpose Frigate.
SeaRAM’s makeup and stated defensive role
SeaRAM pairs Raytheon’s Phalanx Close In Weapon System with the Rolling Airframe Missile to create an autonomous terminal defense capability. Raytheon describes the system as providing terminal air and missile defense against cruise missiles and “other advanced airborne threats.” The contract covers the hardware—launchers and blast-test assets—and the technical services required to integrate and test those systems on the ships.
Platform lineage: Improved Mogami, JMSDF precedents, and Hunter-class
The Australian Improved Mogami-class frigates are based on Japanese designs. SeaRAM is already fitted on the 12 existing Mogami-class frigates of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) and on a similar number of 06FFM-class frigates being built for Japan; the Australian Improved Mogami design will draw from that lineage. Separately, Australia has selected SeaRAM for its Hunter-class frigates, which are based on the BAE Type 26 design. The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) will use the Improved Mogamis to replace its existing Anzac-class frigates.
MHI, Henderson Defence Precinct, and the construction plan
Under Project SEA3000, the construction plan splits work between Japan and Australia. MHI will build the first three of the 11 Improved Mogami-class frigates in Japan; construction of the final eight will move to Australia’s Henderson Defence Precinct. Raytheon’s role under the MHI award includes delivering systems and providing installation and systems-testing support as the build program shifts from initial foreign construction to domestic Australian completion.
How the Royal Australian Navy, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and New Zealand are affected
- The Royal Australian Navy: The RAN will receive an additional terminal air- and missile-defense layer on its future surface combatants via SeaRAM as part of the Improved Mogami program and has already selected SeaRAM for the Hunter-class. The Improved Mogamis are slated to replace the Anzac-class frigates.
- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI): MHI is the prime contractor for the first three ships and is the source of the award to Raytheon for the SeaRAM deliverables; MHI will oversee early integration as the program transitions to Australian construction at Henderson.
- New Zealand and its defense decision-making: New Zealand’s defense minister, Chris Penk, has said the Improved Mogami is in the running—alongside the British Type 31—to replace New Zealand’s two Anzac-class frigates, a choice now made more concrete by Japan’s decision to relax arms export rules and the proven fits of SeaRAM on the Japanese-built hulls.
SeaRAM’s existing international footprint is notable in the context of this award: it is already in service with 11 countries, including the United States, Germany, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea. That operational spread, combined with the decision to fit SeaRAM on two Australian frigate lines (Improved Mogami and Hunter-class), reinforces the system’s role as a recurring terminal-defense option for surface combatants in the region.
The program moves from contract award to hardware deliveries beginning in late 2028, then into installation and systems testing supported by the Raytheon-provided technical services and Blast Test Vehicles. With construction split between MHI in Japan and Australia’s Henderson Defence Precinct, the next visible milestones will be delivery of first SeaRAM units, integration trials on the initial hulls, and the handover of later-construction work to Australian yards. Given the public track record cited by the participants and the concurrent choices by other navies, the Improved Mogami program will be an early test case of how Japanese-built designs, U.S.-developed systems, and Australian construction practices interoperate at scale.
https://breakingdefense.com/2026/05/raytheon-awarded-searam-contract-for-australian-frigates/
