American defence technology startup Anduril has secured a $1.7 billion contract with the Royal Australian Navy to build a new fleet of unmanned military submarines with strike capabilities in Australia.
The extra-large autonomous undersea vehicles (XL-AUV), known as Ghost Sharks, emerged production ready after more than three years of work on an affordable, long endurance AUV capable of handling a variety of payloads.
Defence minister Richard Marles and Defence Industry minister Pat Conroy announced the five-year contract with the Australian subsidiary of American military tech firm Anduril on Wednesday.
It paves the way for a “large fleet” of the Ghost Sharks, which have been designed to undertake long-range intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and strike missions.
Anduril Australia has been developing Ghost Shark since May 2022, with both the company and the government investing $140 million in the first two years of work to prove up the technology and scale the supply chain.
An initial prototype was delivered ahead of schedule in April 2024, complementing smaller undersea drones being developed for Defence by Melbourne-based startup C2 Robotics and a future fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.
Since then, three Ghost Shark vehicles have been delivered and tested as part of a “first of its kind collaboration” that also involved Defence Science and Technology Group and the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator.
“This is a critical capability that the Albanese government is delivering at pace – with all three prototypes delivered on budget and ahead of schedule,” Mr Conroy said in a statement announcing the investment.
Each Ghost Shark to slide off the production line will be manufactured in Australia, with Anduril also committing to maintain the vehicles in country over the life of the contract, as well as continue development work.
Anduril said “low-rate initial production” would begin immediately, with work ramping up in 2026. Ghost Sharks will be manufactured for the Navy and its allies, while a commercial variant will be more widely available.
The contract is expected to secure 120 existing jobs and create more than 150 more at Anduril Australia, as well as add a further 600 jobs at the 40 Australian companies supporting the program, the government said.
Anduril Australia chief executive David Goodrich said that the fact that Ghost Shark had reached “Program of Record status in just three years” is a testament to the co-development and co-investment approach.
“This achievement reflects what is possible when Defence and industry work shoulder-to-shoulder: ideating, innovating, and inspiring each other to deliver extraordinary advancements in subsea technology,” he said.
“To prepare for this moment, Anduril invested ahead of contract to establish a world-class factory in Australia, complete with state-of-the-art production systems to manufacture Ghost Shark domestically.
“Sovereign production has already commenced, supporting the Royal Australian Navy and our Indo-Pacific partners, while our global expansion continues with the opening of a dedicated facility in the United States to serve our US customers.”
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