The Royal Australian Navy Has A Billion-Dollar Ghost Shark Submarine Fleet On The Way

There's no denying that the 21st century has proven that drone warfare is the way of the future. While most think of drones as aircraft, and there are indeed many of those, there are also various types of ground-based and aquatic drones. In fact, Ukraine outfitted its drone boats to fire missiles at Russian planes, and successfully downed them in a technological first. That demonstrated the capabilities of Uncrewed Surface Vehicles (USV) in particular, but there are many different types out there.

The Russo-Ukrainian War has demonstrated the importance of drones of all kinds, and other nations are also interested in acquiring them. The Royal Australian Navy recently purchased a fleet of Anduril Industries' Ghost Shark uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs), which will significantly increase its submarine capabilities. The Australian government invested AU$1.7 billion ($1.12 billion) in September 2025 to purchase the extra-large autonomous UUVs under a five-year contract. This contract comes after the government spent around AU$140 million to develop the Ghost Shark platform.

Anduril Australia will produce Ghost Shark UUVs domestically. Over 40 Australian companies are involved in the Ghost Shark supply chain, so it's a sizable investment in the technology. Australia's existing submarine force will be augmented with the new vehicles, which boast a range of capabilities designed to improve intelligence gathering and kinetic strikes. While the announcement doesn't indicate how many Ghost Sharks will be produced, the billion-dollar investment suggests it will be a considerable number.

Anduril Industries' Ghost Shark is an Extra-Large Autonomous Undersea Vehicle (XL-AUV) that was developed jointly by the U.S. defense contractor and the Australian Department of Defense. While Australia made the initial investment and purchase, Anduril aims to sell the UUV to other countries, including the U.S. The company had already brought one example to the States in August 2024. Most of the Ghost Shark's capabilities have been kept under wraps, but there's much that we can glean from various reports and press announcements.

The Ghost Shark has been designed for stealth and long-range missions. It has persistent and disruptive intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities, as well as undisclosed strike options. Given its perceived payload capacity, the Ghost Shark may carry the deadly U.S.-made Mark 48 heavyweight torpedo, which the Royal Australian Navy prefers. The Ghost Shark is launchable from the shore and from warships, so it likely has a huge, though undisclosed, range.

Individual Ghost Sharks are transportable aboard a C-17A Globemaster III aircraft in a standard shipping container, allowing for deployment anywhere in the world. The UUV is likely equipped with Anduril's proprietary AI software Lattice, which will give the Ghost Shark the capability to deploy its own drones, though this remains unconfirmed. Similarly, the vehicle's speed and other specs are undisclosed. Still, given the lack of a tall mast, Ghose Sharks appear streamlined for moving through the water. This suggests it could enter and leave a target area faster than crewed submarines, although, like much of the Ghost Shark's capabilities, this remains speculative at the time of writing.