The Australian government is investing $1.7 billion to acquire a new fleet of Australian‑designed and built extra-large autonomous undersea vehicles – known as the Ghost Shark – for the Royal Australian Navy. Defence has signed a contract with Anduril Australia for the delivery, maintenance and continued development of the Ghost Shark over the next five years.
The cutting edge platform is designed to conduct intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and strike operations, stealthily and at long range. It will deliver a significant boost to Australia’s undersea warfare capabilities – complementing Navy’s future surface combatant fleet and conventionally‑armed, nuclear‑powered submarines.
This announcement builds on the approximately $140 million the Australian Government has already invested in the development of the Ghost Shark platform, payloads and production facilities since entering into a collaborative contract with Anduril in 2022.
Working alongside Defence personnel, Australia’s defence industry and workforce is crucial to delivering this capability. This five-year contract will support around 120 existing jobs and create more than 150 new highly-skilled, long-term jobs at Anduril Australia.
There are now more than 40 Australian companies working as part of the Ghost Shark supply chain, which are expected to add a further 600 jobs as a result of this investment.
Delivery of uncrewed undersea and surface vessels will provide Australia’s Defence Force an asymmetric capability advantage – a key priority outlined in the 2024 National Defence Strategy.
Continued investment in this capability presents a unique opportunity for Australia to design, engineer, and manufacture sovereign uncrewed maritime warfare capabilities, with strong prospects for export opportunities.
Deputy Prime Minister, Richard Marles said: “The Ghost Shark is a world-leading platform made right here in Australia. The Albanese Government’s investments in the Ghost Shark are fast-charging the development of long‑range, undersea autonomous vehicles for our Navy while also backing Australian businesses. Over the next five years and beyond the Ghost Shark will equip Navy with the intelligence, surveillance and strike capabilities it needs in an increasingly complex strategic environment.”
Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy said: “This is a critical capability that the Albanese Government is delivering at pace – with all three prototypes delivered on budget and ahead of schedule. Our investment backs in 120 existing workers and creates more than 150 new high-skilled, local jobs. This reflects the Albanese Government’s unwavering commitment to supporting Australian innovation, backing Australian workers and building a defence future made in Australia.”
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Do we know anything about the operating range of the Ghost Shark? Are they launched from a gantry?
The range is classified, but I’m guessing a couple of thousand kilometres or it wouldn’t be worth the bother – and I think that’s why the tendency is for XL-AUVs so they have extra storage for batteries or whatever is powering them. Given their size I assume a gantry would be needed – or for shore based operations maybe something like a boat trailer reversing down a ramp.
Apparently “dozens” will be built with the first vessels entering service at the beginning of next year. A move in the right direction.
Good to see!
Good to see this progressing. It will be interesting to see feedback on its operational activities. Perhaps there is also scope to operate them from forward bases to extend their sea control areas? I think their actual capabilities will be kept under wraps for years to come.
It’s the way of the future.
We should have thousands of ‘cheap’ autonomous drones, both sea and air, patrolling Australia. Being cheap means if they fail or are attacked it doesn’t matter, just pump out more. Forget $30b fighter jets which are limited by the pilot. Autonomous craft can operate rotationally 24/7 without huge wage cost.
I agree.
Jets and submersibles service different needs.
I believe that each AUV is equipped with two Kraken Robotics batteries. The batteries are made in Nova Scotia Canada in a newly opened plant built just for battery production.
Kraken sells these expensive high tech batteries to Anduril in the USA for use in the Ghost Shark and also in Anduril’s own AUV models for the US War department.
The batteries have commercial applications as well in the oil/gas/ turbine fields.
Sovereign Capability on Track – A Milestone for Australian Defence Industry. Good News:
The Government has helped achieve a key milestone in defence capability development, with all three Anduril Australia prototypes delivered ahead of schedule and within budget. This success highlights the value of investing in local industry and skilled local jobs.
It also marks a shift from past decades when similar opportunities were missed. In the 1980s–90s, companies like GEC Marconi, TSP and Sonartech to name a few supported by the Defence Industry Development (DID) program and figures such as Chris Donald and Jim Hanson, developed advanced technologies—towed arrays, processors, and undersea protype systems. Yet much of this capability was lost as procurement shifted toward large, costly platforms and systems from US and UK primes. As Philippe Odouard, formerly of TSP and Thales, noted in 2023, Australian industry had proven its potential. This latest success shows what’s possible when that potential is backed with sustained investment and strategic focus.
You are absolutely 100% correct. For those of you who are interested in history, TSP (Thomson Sintra Pacific) and GEC Marconi merged in the mid-1990s to become Thales Underwater. Sonartech is now Sonartech Atlas. If governments – and the RAN – had continued to support those companies instead of spraying contracts around all over the place the future of Australian industry in the underwater domain would be a lot brighter than it now is.
“Apologies, Kym — I believe it was Jim Mason, not Hanson, who succeeded Chris Donald as a proponent of local industry.”
You might be thinking of Jim Manson.
Arm them with nuclear arms then your enemy will stay away JUST DO IT 💪💪💪💪💪
A great step forward, potential to make a BIG impact for Aus. Now I wonder about the details. like range, performance, maneuverability and what actual weapons/ sensors can use/mount.
Do you know if it uses modular demountable payload sections or is it a fixed payload bay they just load stuff into?
Also what’s happening with C2 Robotics ‘Spear tooth’ AUV it was designed as a smaller cheaper sub to complement Ghost Shark that could be considered more disposable and sent in to do the dirty and dangerous/suicide jobs such as attacking ships in harbours etc even used as a giant long range torpedo.
I had the same thought about Speartooth and I’ll do my best to find out.
Defence needs drones, air land,sea thousands of them.Also more jets ships,ammunition factories, all platforms.
Why so much secrecy around this project? Are they hiding something from the Chinese, or are they hiding something from us?
The latter, I suspect. How dare Australians expect to be told anything other than the vaguest details of how their tax dollars are being spent. I’m sure China’s analysts, researchers and spies are more than capable of calculating all of the performance parameters of Ghost Shark. It’s just a feeble excuse to once again keep us completely in the dark, apart from the occasional self-serving PR announcement.
Just saw an article ‘short’ that says that anduril has a range of “torpedo like drones” that are cheap but highly capable made for pairing with the Ghost Shark. Hope this doesn’t mean C2 Robotics has been dropped in favour of the ‘American’ solution (ie its been headed by an American company, though all done in Australia), instead of the ‘completely’ indigenous option in Speartooth.