The coalition picked British defence giant BAE systems to design and build the next generation of Australian global combat ships.

"We are proud to have been selected as preferred tenderer to provide the Royal Australian Navy with a world-class ship, equipped with the latest technologies and designed specifically to meet its needs," said BAE Systems Australia chief executive Gabby Costigan. 

The $35 Billion contract for nine new "Hunter class" vessels marks Australia's largest peace-time warship-building program.  BAE's "Type 26" frigate beat out Italy's Fincantieri and its FREMM, as well as Navantia of Spain with an updated F100.  The design is so advanced that Britain won't even have its version of the warships until 2027.

"The Hunter class will have the capability to conduct a variety of missions independently, or as part of a task group, with sufficient range and endurance to operate effectively throughout the region," read the release from Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's office.

Production on the ships will start in 2020 at ASC Shipbuilding in Adelaide.  ASC is owned by the government, but will become a subsidiary of BAE for this project.  The contract is expected to create 4,000 jobs in Australia, 1,500 of them at the South Australian shipyard.  The ships are expected to enter service in the late 2020s.