They noted that the ships should be capable of operating a helicopter, be able to provide air defence "through a limited number of point and self-defence systems" and have the ability to attack targets on the land.

[4] The Australian Government accepted these recommendations, and announced as part of its response that eleven general purpose frigates would be built in order to "address the risk presented by an ageing and increasingly fragile surface combatant fleet".

[6] In order to bring the general purpose frigates into service as quickly as possible, the government intends for the first three ships in the class to be built overseas, with the remainder being constructed at the Australian Marine Complex in Western Australia.

[3] On 24 May 2024 the Department of Defence sent five shipbuilders an 'approach to market' asking them to provide information on their proposed designs and how the frigates would be built for the RAN.

The government intends to conduct a separate process to ask the companies for plans to build the remaining ships in Australia.

The Chief of Navy has not been asked by the government to propose modifications but has responsibility for ensuring that the final design meets the necessary safety standards.

[9] On 7 November 2024, it was reported the Japanese New FFM and German MEKO A-200 were both selected over the Korean FFX Batch II/III and the Spanish ALFA3000 to proceed further into the competition.

Australian Financial Review journalist Andrew Tillet has written that the ALFA3000 and Mogami 30FFM designs best meet the government's requirements.

[15] Following the approach to market, Michael Shoebridge from the defence consulting firm Strategic Analysis Australia raised concerns about the project's management.

He believes that rushing the selection of the ships could cause problems later in the project and that the reluctance to accept design changes might mean that the frigates do not meet the RAN's safety standards.