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Ghost Shark with teeth: Australia unveils underwater drone payloads

The modular payloads will be integrated onto Anduril's Ghost Shark and C2 Robotics' Speartooth unmanned underwater vehicles as well as Ocius's Bluebottle unmanned surface vessel (USV), the Australian DoD said in an announcement.

Breaking DefenseMike Yeo2026-10-20 14:01查看原文 ↗

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles and Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy announce the contract with Anduril Australia to acquire the Ghost Shark, an autonomous underwater vehicle, at Fleet Base East in Sydney, Australia on Sept 10, 2025. (Photo: Australian Department of Defence)

SINGAPORE — Australia has unveiled new underwater warfare payloads for its unmanned naval drones, some of which will be tested at the ongoing AUKUS Pillar II exercise in the US, according to the Australian Department of Defence.

The modular payloads will be integrated onto Anduril’s Ghost Shark and C2 Robotics’ Speartooth unmanned underwater vehicles as well as Ocius’s Bluebottle unmanned surface vessel (USV), the Australian DoD said in an announcement. The payloads will be used to remotely deliver supply caches, sea mines and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

“These technologies directly deliver on the Royal Australian Navy’s mission requirements and will contribute to enhanced undersea warfare capabilities, seabed operations, sea denial and the protection of critical undersea infrastructure,” said the Australian announcement.

The unveiling of the payloads comes five months after AUKUS partners Australia, the US and United Kingdom announced the signing of an agreement on the development of payloads for UUVs.

The payloads were unveiled at Anduril Australia’s facility in Sydney, where Australian Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy said that the minelaying module would be able to deploy 12 mines. Meanwhile, the UAV module payload can deploy Anduril’s Altius strike and reconnaissance UAV, he said.

“The Ghost Shark now has teeth and will have the ability to inflict damage on any potential adversary,” Conroy added.

Some of the payloads will be deployed during the ongoing Exercise Maritime Big Play Pacific in the US, per the announcement. An earlier Australian DoD release explains, “Maritime Big Play exercises help AUKUS partners develop common, open standards to speed up adoption of new technology and improve cooperation on complex missions.”

Separately, Conroy also revealed at Monday’s unveiling that the Ocius Bluebottle USV for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) will be integrated with a “thin-lined towed array sonar” that can be used for Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW).

RAN chief Vice Adm. Matt Buckley said at the media conference that the development of the payload modules was “an important investment in autonomous and uncrewed maritime systems” and allows the RAN flexibility to adapt to different missions and requirements in the future.

“Given the vastness of our maritime geography, the ability to rapidly deliver uncrewed systems adds numbers to our fleets and complements our crews, ships and submarines.”

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2025年9月10日，澳大利亚副总理兼国防部长理查德·马尔斯和国防工业部长帕特·康罗伊在悉尼东部舰队基地宣布与安杜里尔澳大利亚公司签订合同，采购“幽灵鲨”自主水下航行器。（图片：澳大利亚国防部）

新加坡——据澳大利亚国防部称，澳大利亚为其无人海军无人机推出了新的水下作战有效载荷，其中一些将在美国正在进行的 AUKUS Pillar II 演习中进行测试。

澳大利亚国防部在一份声明中表示，这些模块化有效载荷将集成到Anduril公司的“幽灵鲨”（Ghost Shark）和C2 Robotics公司的“矛牙”（Speartooth）无人水下航行器以及Ocius公司的“蓝瓶”（Bluebottle）无人水面艇（USV）上。这些有效载荷将用于远程投放补给物资、水雷和无人机（UAV）。

澳大利亚方面宣布：“这些技术直接满足了澳大利亚皇家海军的任务需求，并将有助于增强水下作战能力、海底作业能力、海上拒止能力以及对关键水下基础设施的保护。”

在 AUKUS 的合作伙伴澳大利亚、美国和英国宣布签署关于为无人水下航行器开发有效载荷的协议五个月后，有效载荷的揭幕仪式举行了。

这些有效载荷在安杜里尔澳大利亚公司位于悉尼的工厂亮相。澳大利亚国防工业部长帕特·康罗伊表示，布雷模块能够部署12枚水雷。他还表示，无人机模块有效载荷可以部署安杜里尔公司的“阿尔蒂乌斯”打击侦察无人机。

康罗伊补充道：“幽灵鲨现在有了牙齿，能够对任何潜在的对手造成伤害。”

根据公告，部分有效载荷将在美国正在进行的“海上大演习太平洋站”期间部署。澳大利亚国防部此前发布的一份声明解释说：“‘海上大演习’有助于AUKUS合作伙伴制定通用、开放的标准，以加快新技术的应用，并改善复杂任务中的合作。”

此外，康罗伊在周一的发布会上还透露，澳大利亚皇家海军 (RAN) 的 Ocius Bluebottle 无人水面艇将集成“细线拖曳阵列声呐”，可用于反潜作战 (ASW)。

澳大利亚皇家海军司令马特·巴克利中将在新闻发布会上表示，有效载荷模块的开发是“对自主和无人海上系统的重要投资”，使澳大利亚皇家海军能够灵活地适应未来不同的任务和需求。

“鉴于我们海洋地理的广袤，快速交付无人系统的能力可以增加我们舰队的数量，并补充我们的船员、舰艇和潜艇。”

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