In this episode we have a look at some more details of the upgraded Mogami frigate and shed more light on how screwed up the process is for SEA 3000. It is shrouded in secrecy because Defence and the government don’t want you to know how little analysis has been done for a strategically vital multi billion dollar procurement. Why does the first ship have to be in the water in 2029? Why not 2028 – or 2030? Then Defence and the highly paid surface fleet review team don’t understand that the only ship Japan can sell to Australia is the upgraded Mogami FFM – not the one currently in service – because you can’t offer something no longer in production. If Japan can offer a variant of the Mogami, can Germany offer a larger variant of the MEKO 200 called the A210? If they can’t then prime contractor tkMS should quit the competition now and save themselves millions of Euro.
We look at President-elect Donald Trump’s territorial ambitions and pose the question: if he asks for Australian military assistance for the invasions of Greenland, Canada and Panama will we give it? Presumably the answer from the Defence establishment will be in the affirmative, so completely dazzled as they are by AUKUS.
Technically the latest Meko A200 will also out of production. The final ship is fitting out and the production line is really effectively closed down. The Egyptian version is unsuited to Australia anyway.
Everything seems to be pointing to a Japanese win. They may well want to brush off their old proposals for the Soryu subs as well.
That’s not correct – and I should have explained it better. The MEKO is a design concept, not a specific platform for one customer. There are more than 80 MEKOs in service with a variety of different combat systems, sensors and even propulsion systems.
Suspect you’ve hit the nail on the head with “design concepts” Kym, only rationale I can derive from MHI’s growing momentum is that its “Upgraded Mogami” is just that, a larger version of its current in service / in production platform with increased air warfare capacity (via doubling of VLS) and an ASW capacity added to its dedicated mine warfare suite. TKMS’ MEKO A210 bid showcased at INDO PACIFIC 2023 was impressive yet remains a design that doesn’t exist, and while its MEKO A200 offers compatibility with the ANZAC class, it amounts to a mixed bag of dated individualized “design concepts” that aren’t as aligned with Uncle Sam’s weapons systems as Japan/ MHI.