Ghost Shark is an underwater autonomous vehicle program being co-developed by Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG), the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and Anduril Australia, and delivered at speed through ASCA. The program is contracted to deliver 3 extra-large autonomous undersea (XL-UAV) combat ready prototypes, the first having been delivered in April 2024.
To support the development of this sovereign capability, 10 companies have already partnered with Anduril Australia to manufacture the XL-AUV if required, and there are more than 42 Australian companies in the supply chain.
To see this cutting-edge technology developed, Defence announced in August 2024 an additional co-investment of $20.1 million alongside Anduril Australia. This will contribute more, to scale the sovereign supply chain and build infrastructure, to transition the Ghost Shark program from prototype development to production. This is a further investment over the $140 million jointly contributed to date.
The early works deed will see Anduril Australia construct a manufacturing facility in Australia, subject to Government approvals, this will enable the first production variant of Ghost shark to be available by late 2025.
The Ghost Shark program will provide Navy with a long-range autonomous undersea capability. Uncrewed systems like the XL-AUV provide a range of asymmetric options to complement Defence's existing crewed force.