Australia and Anduril Industries have signed a co-funded early works agreement to expedite the production of the Royal Australian Navy’s Ghost Shark autonomous submarine. The agreement, involving 40.2 million Australian dollars ($26 million) from both parties, aims to transition prototype developments to production. Additional efforts include establishing local manufacturing infrastructure to assemble the initial Ghost Shark production variant by the end of 2025. The Australian government’s total investment in the Ghost Shark initiative now stands at 90.1 million AUD ($58.4 million).
**1. Funding and Partnership:
- Investment: 40.2 million AUD ($26 million) jointly funded by Australia and Anduril.
- Purpose: To accelerate production and development of the Ghost Shark submarine.
**2. Manufacturing Infrastructure:
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- Establishment of local manufacturing sites to assemble initial production variants by the end of 2025.
- These sites will also produce additional configurations for foreign military and commercial users.
**3. Strategic Importance:
- Enhances Australia’s intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and strike capabilities in the sub-sea domain.
- The Ghost Shark program is a key example of how the Australian government collaborates with industry to deliver advanced defense capabilities and boost local industrial capacity.
**4. Program Milestones:
- Anduril received the contract for three initial prototypes in May 2022.
- The first prototype unit was launched in April 2024.
Photo from Australian Department of Defence
