The Ghost Shark programme emerged from the Navy’s decision to share risk with industry to accelerate delivery of new capability. “The Ghost Shark program is the direct outcome of a bold decision by the Royal Australian Navy to take on shared risk in pursuit of speed and capability,” Anduril said in a statement.
Rather than follow traditional defence acquisition processes, the Navy co-developed and co-funded Ghost Shark with Anduril. The company said the partnership represented “significant financial and bureaucratic capital to the success of the program.”
The entry into full-rate production is described as the beginning of “a new era of seapower through maritime autonomy.” Anduril said Ghost Shark will enhance coastal defence and domain awareness through “artificial intelligence at scale.”
Anduril emphasised that the programme provides a model for other nations, including the United States and its allies. “Success in this effort would be a landmark opportunity to demonstrate the potential of autonomous seapower to address clear and urgent national security problems,” the company said.
The company highlighted close cooperation with the Navy throughout the project. “The Royal Australian Navy embedded their people into our processes and allowed us to do the same in theirs — creating true collaboration at every stage,” Anduril stated.
Anduril noted that it had taken significant risks to achieve rapid development of Ghost Shark. “Months before securing any formal engagement with government partners, Anduril expended its own capital to acquire Dive Technologies, an AUV startup,” the company said.
The company has since invested $60 million in a robotic manufacturing facility in Australia to produce the submarines. “Anduril is demonstrating that affordable, high-performance undersea mass is achievable in just a few short years — not decade-long planning and budgetary cycles,” it said.
Anduril concluded that Ghost Shark illustrates what can be achieved through urgency and partnership. “The future of undersea warfare doesn’t have to be slow, cumbersome, or exquisite. The free world can own the battlespace beneath the waves — if we can command the sea, we command the world,” the company said.
