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Anduril has revealed the prototype Ghost Shark extra-large autonomous underwater vehicle (XL-AUV) due to be deployed by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
It has also been revealed that the Ghost Shark program is ahead of schedule and on budget.
As Anduril moves to deliver an operationally relevant capability within a fraction of traditional defence timelines, early creation and testing of the first Ghost Shark has been critical for rapid learning and iteration.
It’s a momentous advancement in the $140 million co-development contract between RAN, the Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG), and Anduril to design and develop the three ‘Ghost Shark’ XL-AUV in three years in Australia.
Ghost Shark is a modular, multi-purpose capability that can flexibly respond to the Australian Defence Force’s mission requirements, creating an agile force multiplier for Defence.
David Goodrich OAM, Executive Chairman and CEO Anduril Australia said: “The timeline we set to design and produce three Ghost Sharks in three years in Australia, by Australians for the ADF, was extremely ambitious. I am excited to report that we are ahead of schedule and, importantly for a Defence program, we are on budget.
“We’re moving incredibly quickly on this program in lockstep with our ASCA, DSTG and the RAN partners. The strategic leadership and innovation insights provided by Prof Tanya Monro, Prof Emily Hilder and Vice Admiral Mark Hammond are key to our success.”
Dr Shane Arnott, Senior Vice President Engineering, Anduril Industries said; “Moving at the speed of relevance is Anduril’s signature. For Ghost Shark, we have assembled a unique high-powered engineering team of 121 people from the best-of-Australia, across tech, resources and defence, to fuel this progress.
“We have 42 Australian companies currently working on Ghost Shark, which is being designed, engineered and manufactured in Australia. We plan to manufacture at scale in Australia for the Royal Australian Navy, and then for export to our allies and partners around the world.
“Using novel scaled agile development techniques, we are combining both tech and defence sector development practices – and it’s paying big dividends. Ghost Shark is a program that we as Australians can be very proud of.”
Minister for Defence Industry, Pat Conroy, said; “Ghost Shark is an exemplar of how Defence and Australian industry can move at speed to develop new sovereign capabilities to respond to the challenges before us.
“By transitioning Ghost Shark to ASCA, a clear statement is being made about Defence’s commitment to the program.
“ASCA is focussed on speeding up the transition of innovation into capability that will give our Australian Defence Force an edge, while creating more jobs for Australians commercialising the technology.”
Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Mark Hammond, commented; “This collaboration combines Navy’s expertise, ASCA’s speed to delivery, Defence’s scientific smarts and Anduril Australia’s experience in agile innovation.
“We are a nation girt by sea, and the Ghost Shark is one of the tools we are developing for the Navy to patrol and protect our oceans and our connection to the world.”
Chief Defence Scientist, Prof Tanya Monro AC, said; “Delivering the first Ghost Shark prototype ahead of schedule sets a new standard for capability development at the speed of need. Ghost Shark is already well ahead of its three-year development schedule.
“The Ghost Shark program is delivering an operationally relevant capability within a fraction of traditional defence timelines. Early creation and testing of the first Ghost Shark has been critical for rapid learning and iteration – this is how we deliver advanced asymmetric capability.
“DSTG is contributing its own pathfinding technologies into the Ghost Shark’s powerful capability, as well as design and development expertise for key systems and payloads.”
Head of the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA), Prof Emily Hilder, added; “Ghost Shark is a real living exemplar of the approach we are taking within ASCA to deliver advanced asymmetric capabilities that have a two-to-three-year development horizon.”
