Anduril Australia building Ghost Shark factory in Australia

Anduril Australia is building its first Australian manufacturing facility for Ghost Shark XL-AUVs. The factory will be capable of manufacturing large numbers of Ghost Sharks for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and its allies in the Asia Pacific, as well as the commercial Dive-XL variant. Anduril’s autonomous underwater vehicles are designed from the outset to be produced at-scale by incorporating a modular design. Then with advanced, scalable manufacturing techniques that enable rapid iteration based on specific customer needs, Ghost Shark will deliver a shift in maritime deterrence through affordable, autonomous mass. Chief Defence Scientist, Professor Tanya Monro, stated that the “Ghost Shark has been specifically designed for manufacturability, mass production and flexibility to create supply chain resilience”. To accelerate production readiness of Ghost Shark, Defence and Anduril Australia have entered into a co-funded Early Works Contract. The Defence investment of A$20.1 million will be significantly exceeded by Anduril Australia as it invests in hiring, scaling the sovereign supply chain and building infrastructure to transition the Ghost Shark program from prototype to production that, subject to further government approval, will see the first production variant available by the end of 2025. The Ghost Shark supply chain involves more than forty-two Australian companies and the Early Works Contract will facilitate investment into the Australian industry supply chain so it can grow and scale alongside Anduril Australia. Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery Pat Conroy said in his 5th August media release that “the Ghost Shark Early Works Contract provides a clear example of how the Albanese Government is working with Australian industry to accelerate the delivery of cutting-edge sovereign capability. Defence is incentivising industry to make substantial capital investments.” Ghost Shark is an Extra Large Autonomous Undersea Vehicle (XL-AUVs) that will provide Navy with a cost-effective, stealthy, long-range, trusted undersea capability that can conduct persistent and disruptive intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR) and strike. Developing, manufacturing, and fielding these systems at-scale within an operationally-relevant timeline will be essential to help in defending Australia’s immense maritime boundaries. In April Conroy revealed the first Ghost Shark prototype on Sydney Harbour, was one year ahead of schedule and on-budget. The Ghost Shark is a collaboration between the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG), Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA), and Anduril Australia. The Head of ASCA, Professor Emily Hilder stated that “Ghost Shark is a powerful example of how ASCA can help accelerate capability to our warfighters, bringing together parts of the Defence enterprise as well as Anduril Australia, to help deliver an asymmetric advantage.” The more than $180M program has been jointly funded by the Commonwealth and Anduril Australia. Anduril has proven it is capable of agile, responsive manufacturing to support customer demand. The Australian facility joins Anduril’s growing footprint of global factories. Most recently, Anduril announced the opening of its U.S Rhode Island production facility to enable Anduril to increase production to 200 Dive-LD’s per year. In addition, Anduril announced an $75 million USD investment to increase manufacturing and production capacity for solid rocket motors in Mississippi. David Goodrich OAM Executive Chairman and CEO, Anduril Australia, said: “We are thrilled to announce Anduril’s first Australian manufacturing facility for Ghost Shark XL-AUVs. We are excited about accelerating the delivery of Ghost Sharks at unprecedented speed in lock-step with our Defence and Australian defence industry supply chain partners. The $20.1 million Early Works Contract is a strong signal of Government support. It has prompted Anduril to make another significant investment, in the creation of a cutting-edge Australian manufacturing facility with state-of-the-art production systems to manufacture Ghost Sharks right here in Australia. This is the first uncrewed submarine manufactured at-scale by the Australian maritime defence technology industry. From a strategic perspective, having a defence technology manufacturing base in the southern hemisphere delivers a significant advantage for Australia, AUKUS and our like-minded international partners should conflict occur. A diversified supply chain is no longer a nice-to have, it is now absolutely essential. The supply chain chaos uncovered during the COVID-19 pandemic showed us why.” Dr Shane Arnott, Senior Vice President Engineering, Anduril Industries, said: “Anduril’s Maritime Division is developing advanced, autonomous undersea capabilities with the best engineering talent in the country. There’s a lot of talk but not enough ‘walk’ in delivering affordable maritime mass. This is Anduril stepping-up with another significant investment to show how to get things done. Many companies create R&D AUV systems without committing to building the factory in order to scale production, leading to a chicken and egg situation on affordability. We are changing the game by building our first full-rate maritime autonomy factory for Ghost Shark here in Australia.” For Editorial Inquiries Contact : Editor Kym Bergmann at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Group Sales Director Simon Hadfield at [email protected]