RAN awards Anduril $1.7 billion Ghost Shark XL-AUV contract

Defence has awarded Anduril Australia a $1.7 billion contract for the delivery, maintenance and continued development of the Ghost Shark Extra Large Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (XL-AUV) for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) over the next five years.

An undisclosed number of Ghost Sharks will be manufactured in a state-of-the-art facility in Australia, says Anduril Australia. The contract award follows successful delivery of all three production-ready Ghost Shark XL-AUV early production examples and multiple mission payload modules, on schedule and on-budget as part of the initial $140 million three-year co-development contract.

This was a first of its kind collaboration between the  RAN, Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG), Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA) and Anduril Australia. The manufacture of Ghost Sharks will commence immediately with Low-Rate Initial Production, says Anduril Australia, and move to High-Rate Production in 2026. The Australian manufacturing facility is capable of producing large numbers of Ghost Sharks for the RAN and its allies, as well as the commercial Dive-XL variant.

Ghost Shark provides Navy with a cost-effective, stealthy, long-range, trusted undersea capability that can conduct persistent and disruptive Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR) and strike operations, stealthily and at long range, say Anduril Australia and the RAN. It will deliver a significant boost to Australia’s undersea warfare capabilities, complementing Navy’s future surface combatant fleet and conventionally‑armed, nuclear‑powered submarines.

“The Ghost Shark is a world-leading platform made right here in Australia,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles. “Over the next five years and beyond the Ghost Shark will equip Navy with the intelligence, surveillance and strike capabilities it needs in an increasingly complex strategic environment.”

This announcement builds on the approximately $140 million the Australian Government has already invested in the development of the Ghost Shark platform, payloads and production facilities since entering into a collaborative contract with Anduril in 2022.

This five-year contract will support around 120 existing jobs and create more than 150 new highly-skilled, long-term jobs at Anduril Australia., said Pat Conroy, Minister for Defence Industry: “This is a critical capability that the Albanese Government is delivering at pace – with all three prototypes delivered on budget and ahead of schedule.”

“Ghost Shark has reached Program of Record status in just three years — a remarkable milestone made possible through an unprecedented co-development and co-investment partnership with NAVY, DSTG and ASCA,” says David Goodrich, CEO and Executive Chairman of Anduril Australia. “This achievement reflects what is possible when Defence and industry work shoulder-to-shoulder: ideating, innovating, and inspiring each other to deliver extraordinary advancements in subsea technology.

“To prepare for this moment, Anduril invested ahead of contract to establish a world-class factory in Australia, complete with state-of-the-art production systems to manufacture Ghost Shark domestically. Sovereign production has already commenced, supporting the Royal Australian Navy and our Indo-Pacific partners, while our global expansion continues with the opening of a dedicated facility in the United States to serve our US customers.”

There are now more than 40 Australian companies working as part of the Ghost Shark supply chain.