Canberra and Anduril Industries have signed an agreement to expedite the Royal Australian Navy’s Ghost Shark autonomous submarine production.
The framework stipulates 40.2 million Australian dollars ($26 million) of investment provided by the government and the company to transition associated prototype developments to production.
Additional work includes the establishment of local manufacturing infrastructure to assemble the initial Ghost Shark production variant by the end of 2025. This site will also produce configurations for foreign military and commercial users once operational.
The Australian Department of Defence wrote that the agreement increases the government’s overall Ghost Shark investment to 90.1 Australian dollars ($58.4 million).
“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,” Australian Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy stated.
“The Ghost Shark program exemplifies how Australia’s defence industry can develop cutting edge technology and deliver at pace.”
The Ghost Shark Program
Australia’s Ghost Shark initiative aims to deliver long-range vessels to boost the nation’s intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and strike capabilities in the sub-sea domain.
Although the system’s specifications are not yet disclosed, the government hinted that it will have an extra-large autonomous undersea vehicle design.
Anduril received the contract to build three initial prototypes for the Ghost Shark program in May 2022. Seven months later, Canberra revealed the submarine’s early prototype model for evaluation.
In April 2024, the company launched the submarine’s first prototype unit.
