Australia dives deep with US$1.1 billion purchase of ‘Ghost Shark’ drone submarines
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles described the undersea vehicles as the ‘highest tech capability in the world’
Ghost Shark will be built under a contract with Anduril Australia, Marles told reporters in Sydney on Wednesday, flanked by Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy and the CEO of Anduril Australia.
“This is the highest tech capability in the world,” Marles added. “It exemplifies the fact that Australia is leading the world in terms of autonomous underwater military capabilities.”
The drone is capable of engaging in intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and strike, Marles said.
The first vehicles will be in service by the beginning of 2026, Marles said, and the government expects to have “dozens” in operation over the next five years. “There is a specific number but we’re not making that public,” he added.
Australia has been overhauling and upgrading its defence capabilities in response to an increasingly contested region, with rapidly China expanding its military power. As an open trading island nation flanked by the Pacific and Indian Oceans, Australia relies on secure sea lanes to move goods in and out of the country.