The federal government will pump another $20 million into Defence’s Ghost Shark program to fast-track the production of sovereign-built unmanned military submarines.
The new funding comes just months after the first prototype extra-large autonomous undersea vehicle (XL-AUV) was delivered to Defence by Australian subsidiary of American military tech firm Anduril.
Anduril began work on Ghost Shark in May 2022, promising the Royal Australian Navy affordable, long endurance AUV capable of handling a variety of payloads to complement smaller undersea drones also in development.
In April, Anduril said that with the arrival of the prototype, the program was “ahead of schedule and on budget”, putting the AUV on track to be delivered “within a fraction of traditional defence timelines”.
On Monday, the government said Defence had now entered into a co-funded early works contract with Auduril Australia, bringing its total investment in the project to $90.1 million.
A contract with the company was published late last month and will run until the end of this financial year.
With Anduril also set to tip in another $20.1 million, the total cost of the project is now $180 million — around 28 per cent more than what was first agreed between the pair.
The new funds will be used to scale the supply chain and build infrastructure to transition Ghost Shark from prototype development to production.
Anduril plans to construct a manufacturing facility capable of putting out the first production variant Ghost Shark by the end of 2025.
Defence Industry minister Pat Conroy said the early works contract is an example of the government’s push to “accelerate the delivery of cutting-edge sovereign capability” and incentivise industry.
“Contracts like this help scale Australian industrial capacity and deliver sophisticated defence capability, while bringing more investment and jobs into the Australian economy,” he said.
“The Ghost Shark program exemplifies how Australia’s defence industry can develop cutting edge technology and deliver at pace.”
Defence plans to invest up to $7 billion on subsea warfare capabilities and un-crewed maritime vehicles over the next decade, including through the AUKUS trilateral security pact.
In a clear sign of Defence’s commitment to the project, the Ghost Shark program became Mission Zero for the Australian Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA) in April.
“Ghost Shark is a powerful example of how ASCA can help accelerate capability to our warfighters, bringing together parts of Defence enterprise as well as Anduril Australia, to help deliver an asymmetric advantage,” ASCA head Emily Hilder said.
Anduril is working with 42 other local defence industry companies on Ghost Shark, including Advanced Navigation, APD, Axiom, Microelectronic Technologies, and Ron Allum Deepsea Services.
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