CANBERRA, May 21 (Xinhua) -- British and Italian shipbuilders are leading the race to construct nine of Australia's most modern warships, according to an independent think tank.

The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) report indicated on Monday that BAE Systems (Britain) and Fincantieri (Italy) would deliver "the most capable anti-submarine warfare ships" for the Future Frigate tender which is worth 26.3 billion U.S. dollars.

The nine-ship contract was one of the biggest open to Western naval shipbuilders, and would be a defining one for Australia's security and its shipbuilding industry, the ASPI paper said.

The government's national security committee is expected to meet within the next four weeks to determine the new Future Frigate contract, with one Australian media outlet reporting the meeting could take place as early as Tuesday.

Details of ASPI's review were reported in The Australian newspaper on Monday.

Spain's Navantia has been identified as the third contender due to its low-risk proposition.

Navantia has the benefit of experience building the Australian Navy's three Hobart-class air warfare destroyers which its F-5000 future frigate is based on, and of working with the Adelaide-based shipbuilders.