Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries won a multi-billion dollar deal to build a fleet of advanced naval frigates for Australia, boosting Tokyo’s ambitions to become a major exporter of military equipment and develop its defense sector.

Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will deliver the first of Australia's new navy frigates under a A$10 billion ($6.5 billion) deal, Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said on Tuesday.The three frigate contract will be the biggest Australian defence purchase since the government in 2023 agreed to build nuclear-powered submarines with the United States and Britain,

SYDNEY/TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan clinched a landmark A$10 billion ($6.5 billion) deal on Tuesday to build warships for Australia, marking Tokyo's most consequential defence sale since ending a military export ban in 2014 as it steps away from postwar pacifism to counter China.