Anduril Opens Factory to Build Unmanned Submarines for Australia

American defense company Anduril Industries has officially opened a production facility for its "Ghost Shark" unmanned submarine, which it is building in quantity for the Royal Australian Navy.

Ghost Shark is the Australian derivative of Anduril's Dive-XL platform, an all-electric AUV in the extra-large size class - just big enough to fill a standard 40-foot container. Dive-XL is designed to "stretch" with different midsection modules of differing length, enabling it to carry a variety of third-party payloads. The specifications of the Australian naval variant are not public, but it is engineered to be "cost-effective, stealthy, long-range, trusted undersea capability that can conduct persistent and disruptive intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR)." Notably for an unmanned sub, it is also intended to be fitted for strike missions.

In September, the Royal Australian Navy awarded Anduril a US$1.1 billion contract to begin producing the Ghost Shark at scale. At the time of the award, Anduril had already delivered three prototypes for testing, and had the first production model nearing completion. The first low-rate production hull was officially unveiled at the launch ceremony for the factory, attended by Australia's defense minister and the head of the Royal Australian Navy.

The new factory is an 80,000-square-foot facility in Sydney, built for the purpose of making Ghost Sharks. The production rate, unit cost and total contract size were not disclosed.

"Ghost Shark is a sovereign, extra-large autonomous underwater vehicle that will give Australia a real edge in the underwater battlespace. It has been designed from the outset for manufacturability and scale," said Australian defense minister Pat Conroy at the ceremony. "Its modular architecture and advanced production techniques mean it can be rapidly adapted to meet operational needs — and produced in large numbers to deliver affordable, autonomous mass. That’s a game-changer for maritime deterrence."

Anduril is a diversified defense technology firm with a wide range of unmanned products, from anti-drone interceptors to cruise missiles to unmanned fighter jets to torpedoes. It also makes rocket motors at scale for missile systems.