Australia orders fleet of large unmanned submarines from Anduril

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — Australia, as its interminable wait for nuclear-powered submarines continues, has lodged an order with Anduril Australia for a number of state-of-the-art unmanned submarines to be delivered over the coming five years.

The Royal Australian Navy deal — announced on Sep. 10 after it was signed on Aug. 26 — encompasses a “fleet” of Ghost Shark extra-large unmanned underwater vehicles, or XLUUVs. The contract with Anduril Australia is worth A$1.7 billion, or about US$1.12 billion.

In addition to Ghost Shark production in Australia, the contract covers sustainment and further platform development. The project’s speed is remarkable, going from signature to production in just three years.

Low-rate initial production has commenced already, with expansion to high-rate production slated for next year. Anduril Australia noted that its manufacturing facility can produce “large numbers” of all-electric Ghost Sharks for Australia and allies.

“The Ghost Shark is a world-leading platform made right here in Australia,” Defence Minister Richard Marles commented. “Over the next five years and beyond, it will give navy the intelligence, surveillance and strike capabilities it needs.”

Canberra has already sunk A$145 million into the Ghost Shark development program since April 2022, and Anduril Australia delivered three prototypes plus mission payload modules ahead of schedule.

Anduril explained the Ghost Shark “has been engineered to carry multiple distinct mission payloads, all of which were designed and delivered as part of the R&D program.”

Speaking to Defense News before the announcement dropped, Dr. Ross Babbage, CEO of Strategic Forum, said the advantage of systems like Ghost Shark lies in their deployability at scale.

Their development “has moved very fast, much faster than most people realize,” he explained.

Babbage said a large fleet of autonomous craft would “change the game” in underwater warfare.

“Could we do it? I believe we can,” he said. “The question is [whether it is] a priority.”

This announcement seems to answer that question.

“This achievement reflects what’s possible when defence and industry work shoulder to shoulder: ideating, innovating and inspiring each other to deliver extraordinary advancements in subsea technology,” noted David Goodrich, executive chairman and CEO of Anduril Australia.

The company added that the program “is the direct outcome of a bold decision by the Royal Australian Navy to take on shared risk in pursuit of speed and capability.”

Some 42 Australian firms are already plugged into the supply chain.

The U.S.-based company claimed the Ghost Shark “exceeded the highest expectations” of the navy after trials concluded in June.

“In short, navy’s vision of partnering with Anduril to create a disruptive, highly capable autonomous undersea vehicle that will complement the submarine fleet has been realized,” the statement continued.

Anduril has opened a dedicated Ghost Shark production facility in Rhode Island to serve its U.S. customer as well.

Last year’s National Defence Strategy earmarked uncrewed underwater and surface vessels as a priority for Australia.

In fact, just two days prior to Anduril’s announcement, Leidos revealed on Sept. 8 that it had started constructing a Sea Archer unmanned surface vessel for Australia.

The aluminum-hulled vessel with a 1,500-nautical-mile range can perform surveillance or even strike missions in Australia’s maritime approaches.

Gordon Arthur is an Asia correspondent for Defense News. After a 20-year stint working in Hong Kong, he now resides in New Zealand. He has attended military exercises and defense exhibitions in about 20 countries around the Asia-Pacific region.

新西兰基督城——由于澳大利亚迟迟未能获得核动力潜艇，该国已向安杜里尔澳大利亚公司订购了一批最先进的无人潜艇，这些潜艇将在未来五年内交付。

澳大利亚皇家海军与安杜里尔澳大利亚公司签订的这份合同于8月26日签署，并于9月10日正式宣布。合同内容包括一支“幽灵鲨”超大型无人水下航行器（XLUUV）舰队。合同价值17亿澳元，约合11.2亿美元。

除了在澳大利亚生产“幽灵鲨”潜艇外，该合同还涵盖维护和后续平台开发。该项目的进展速度令人瞩目，从签约到投产仅用了三年时间。

小批量初期生产已经启动，计划明年扩大到大批量生产。安杜里尔澳大利亚公司指出，其制造工厂能够为澳大利亚及其盟友生产“大量”全电动幽灵鲨战车。

“幽灵鲨是一款世界领先的平台，完全在澳大利亚本土制造，”国防部长理查德·马尔斯评论道。“在未来五年及更长的时间里，它将为海军提供所需的情报、监视和打击能力。”

自 2022 年 4 月以来，堪培拉已向“幽灵鲨”开发计划投入了 1.45 亿澳元，而 Anduril Australia 已提前交付了三个原型机和任务有效载荷模块。

安杜里尔解释说，“幽灵鲨”的设计目的是携带多个不同的任务载荷，所有这些载荷都是作为研发计划的一部分进行设计和交付的。

在正式发布前接受《防务新闻》采访时，战略论坛首席执行官罗斯·巴贝奇博士表示，像“幽灵鲨”这样的系统的优势在于其可大规模部署。

他解释说，他们的发展“进展非常迅速，比大多数人意识到的要快得多”。

巴贝奇表示，一支庞大的自主航行器舰队将“改变”水下战争的格局。

“我们能做到吗？我相信我们能做到，”他说。“问题在于，这是否是当务之急。”

这份公告似乎回答了这个问题。

“这一成就体现了国防和工业界并肩合作所能取得的成就：互相启发、创新和激励，从而在海底技术领域取得非凡的进步，”安杜里尔澳大利亚公司执行主席兼首席执行官大卫·古德里奇指出。

该公司补充说，该计划“是澳大利亚皇家海军为追求速度和能力而承担共同风险的大胆决定的直接结果”。

已有约 42 家澳大利亚公司接入供应链。

这家总部位于美国的科技公司声称，在6月份的试验结束后，“幽灵鲨”的表现“超出了海军的最高预期”。

声明继续说道：“简而言之，海军与 Anduril 合作打造一款颠覆性的、功能强大的自主水下航行器，以补充潜艇舰队的愿景已经实现。”

为了更好地服务美国客户，Anduril 在罗德岛开设了一家专门生产 Ghost Shark 的工厂。

去年的《国防战略》将无人水下和水面舰艇列为澳大利亚的优先事项。

事实上，就在 Anduril 宣布消息的两天前，Leidos 于 9 月 8 日透露，它已经开始为澳大利亚建造一艘“海射手”无人水面舰艇。

这艘铝制船体的舰艇航程达 1500 海里，可以在澳大利亚的海域执行监视甚至打击任务。

戈登·阿瑟是《防务新闻》的亚洲特派记者。在香港工作20年后，他现居新西兰。他曾到访亚太地区约20个国家，参加过军事演习和防务展览。