TAMANO : Mitsubishi Heavy Industries plans to resume operations at its shipbuilding slipway in Tamano, Okayama Prefecture, in fiscal year 2027.
The Japanese outlet Nikkei reported this.
The company aims to expand its warship-building capacity amid rising defense spending in Japan and growing opportunities to export military equipment. In particular, the company is considering using the slipway to build a new support vessel for the Japan Ministry of Defense.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries also plans to increase the number of employees involved in shipbuilding. The slipway is at Maritime Systems’ main plant in Tamano, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The facility was previously owned by Mitsui Shipbuilding, now known as Mitsui E&S.
In 2021, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries took over the company’s shipbuilding business after it exited the sector. Militarnyi previously reported that the Chief of the Royal New Zealand Navy had visited the Japanese Ministry of Defense and expressed interest in acquiring Japanese frigates to modernize the country’s surface fleet.
Construction of New FFM Frigates
One of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ main areas of activity is the construction of Mogami-class frigates. In August 2025, Australia selected an upgraded version of the vessel to modernize its navy. Japan has also started procuring next-generation frigates under the New FFM program, known as the 06FFM. The country plans to acquire a total of 12 such vessels for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. The plan calls for building up to two frigates per year, which will require expanding shipbuilding capacity.
To avoid delays from occupied dry docks and slipways, the company plans to concentrate frigate construction at Japan’s main shipyards.
Meanwhile, the company plans to shift construction of other vessel types, including support ships, to secondary production facilities.
