Australia buys autonomous "Ghost Shark" underwater drones for 1.1 billion

The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has commissioned defense contractor Anduril to build a fleet of autonomous Ghost Shark underwater drones. As Anduril announced on Tuesday, the contract is worth 1.7 billion Australian dollars (approximately 1.12 billion US dollars). It is not yet clear how many of the 30-metre-long underwater drones developed by the Royal Australian Navy and Anduril will be built.

The “Ghost Shark” project was launched in mid-2022. The aim is to develop a military underwater drone that can operate autonomously off the coast of Australia. The underwater drone is intended to carry out surveillance, reconnaissance, and reconnaissance missions and also take out enemy submarines in an emergency. The drone was developed by Anduril in cooperation with the RAN, the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA), and the Defense Science and Technology Group (DSTG). Within three years, the participants succeeded in developing the autonomous Ghost Shark and making it ready for series production.

The Ghost Shark can operate autonomously at depths of up to 6000 m and remain underwater for up to 10 days. According to Anduril, the range is extremely long and the drone is difficult for the enemy to detect.

The structural design of the Ghost Shark is modular. Some modules come from the 3D printer, Anduril said in a statement during the development phase. This made it possible to quickly implement learning processes during development and thus shorten the development time.

Financing was provided jointly by Anduril and RAN, a rather unusual approach for a government-initiated armaments concept. Anduril initially made advance payments before an agreement was reached and purchased Dive Technologies, a specialist in autonomous underwater drones.

Series production begins

Anduril has also built a production facility for 60 million dollars, where the Ghost Shark is to be built in series. This is expected to create 150 jobs. Australia will initially use the autonomous underwater drones exclusively, after which they will also be offered for sale to allied countries. The RAN and Anduril are keeping quiet about how many of the Ghost Sharks will be produced for their use.

Australia intends to operate the Ghost Shark off coastal waters. This is primarily due to the turbulent military situation in the Pacific and the growing threat posed by China. Chinese military reconnaissance boats are repeatedly intruding into Australian waters. The Ghost Sharks are intended to prevent this and form part of a counterweight to China's naval build-up. Australia wants to modernize its entire navy in the coming years. This includes camouflaged stealth submarines from the USA and eleven Mogami-class frigates, which are to be built in Japan by 2030.

(olb)