Anduril Opens Ghost Shark UUV Factory to Bolster Australian Navy’s Undersea Drone Fleet

Milivox analysis: Anduril Industries has inaugurated a dedicated production facility in Sydney for the Ghost Shark autonomous undersea vehicle (AUV), marking a major milestone in Australia’s push for sovereign unmanned maritime capabilities. The move represents a rapid acceleration of the AUKUS Pillar 2 agenda and positions Australia as a key player in undersea drone warfare.

Background

The Ghost Shark program is a trilateral initiative between Anduril Australia, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), and Australia’s Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG). It aims to develop an extra-large autonomous undersea vehicle (XL-AUV) capable of conducting long-range ISR, strike support, and payload delivery missions without human intervention. The program was launched in 2022 as part of Australia’s broader efforts to modernize its naval capabilities amid growing regional tensions.

The newly inaugurated facility—located at Anduril’s Sydney headquarters—will serve as the primary assembly line for serial production of the Ghost Shark platform. According to official statements from Anduril and Australia’s Department of Defence (DoD), the factory will support full-rate production by mid-2025. The first operational prototypes have already been delivered ahead of schedule, with three vehicles expected by end-2025.

Technical Overview

While detailed specifications remain classified due to operational sensitivities, open-source assessments suggest that Ghost Shark is designed as an extra-large displacement UUV (XLD-UUV) with modular payload bays and extended endurance. Comparable in size to Boeing’s Orca XLUUV developed for the U.S. Navy, Ghost Shark is believed to be over 10 meters long with a range exceeding 1,000 nautical miles depending on mission profile.

Key technical features include:

Autonomy stack: AI-powered navigation and decision-making system developed by Anduril’s Lattice OS platform.
Payload modularity: Configurable bays allowing integration of sonar arrays, electronic warfare packages, or kinetic payloads.
C4ISR integration: Secure communications suite compatible with RAN networks and potentially interoperable with AUKUS allies’ systems.
Launch & recovery: Designed for deployment from shore facilities or surface vessels without drydock requirements.

The vehicle is expected to operate autonomously for weeks at a time across contested maritime zones. Its low acoustic signature and deep-diving capability make it suitable for covert surveillance or mine-laying missions in littoral environments such as the South China Sea or northern approaches to Australia.

Operational or Strategic Context

The opening of this factory aligns closely with AUKUS Pillar 2 objectives focused on advanced capabilities beyond nuclear submarines—specifically autonomy, AI-enabled systems, quantum technologies, and cyber resilience. As assessed by Milivox experts, Ghost Shark represents one of the most mature deliverables under Pillar 2 thus far.

This development also reflects Canberra’s strategic pivot toward asymmetric deterrence through unmanned systems. With traditional submarine construction timelines stretching into decades—as seen in the SSN-AUKUS program—the RAN views uncrewed platforms like Ghost Shark as an interim force multiplier capable of saturating maritime domains at lower cost and risk.

The timing is particularly relevant given rising tensions over Taiwan and increased Chinese naval activity in the Indo-Pacific. By fielding autonomous underwater platforms rapidly—within three years from concept to serial production—Australia aims to establish credible undersea presence while its manned submarine fleet undergoes modernization.

Market or Industry Impact

The establishment of domestic XL-AUV manufacturing marks a significant milestone for Australia’s defense industrial base. Until now, most large-scale UUVs have been developed primarily by U.S.-based primes such as Boeing or Lockheed Martin. Anduril’s new facility positions Australia not only as an operator but also as a producer-exporter of advanced subsea robotics technologies.

This could open future export pathways within Five Eyes partners or Indo-Pacific nations seeking cost-effective alternatives to manned submarines. Moreover, it signals growing confidence in non-traditional defense contractors like Anduril—founded only in 2017—to deliver complex military hardware on accelerated timelines using agile development models borrowed from Silicon Valley rather than legacy defense acquisition cycles.

The project has also created over 100 high-tech jobs locally across engineering disciplines including robotics design, autonomy software development, hydrodynamics modeling, and systems integration—a boost aligned with Australia’s Sovereign Industrial Capability Priorities (SICP).

Milivox Commentary

The rapid maturation of the Ghost Shark program underscores how strategic urgency can accelerate defense innovation when paired with flexible procurement models and public-private partnerships. From initial concept in mid-2022 to operational prototypes within two years—and now full-rate production—the timeline rivals any comparable Western UUV effort outside DARPA-led initiatives.

According to Milivox analysis, this pace reflects not only technological readiness but also political alignment across stakeholders motivated by shared threat perceptions in the Indo-Pacific theater. While questions remain around command-and-control resilience during denied communications scenarios—a known challenge for long-range autonomous platforms—the RAN appears committed to integrating these systems into its future force structure alongside manned assets like Collins-class submarines or future SSN-AUKUS boats.

If successful at scale, Ghost Shark could redefine how middle powers approach undersea warfare—not through parity with peer adversaries’ submarine fleets but via distributed lethality enabled by autonomy and massed deployment at reduced cost-per-unit risk profile. As such programs proliferate globally—from Orca XLUUVs in the U.S., Cetus XL-AUVs in Canada/UK collaboration efforts—to indigenous Chinese HSU-001-type vehicles—it remains clear that seabed dominance will be increasingly contested not just by steel hulls but silicon brains beneath them.