Six new “drone” ships bristling with missiles and 11 general-purpose frigates form the centrepiece of the Albanese government’s $80 billion plan to revive the navy and prepare for the prospect of war in the Indo-Pacific.

Despite the promise of increased firepower, the number of the navy’s major warships will shrink in the short term before beginning to grow from 2031, amid warnings over China’s rapid militarisation and President Xi Jinping’s purported desire to reclaim Taiwan by 2027.