On September 10, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles announced a plan to spend 1.7 billion AUD to buy a new autonomous fleet called Ghost Shark, also known as the Phost Shark, for the Royal Australian Navy.
The contract was signed with Anduril Australia, including the supply, maintenance and development of the fleet for the next 5 years.
Speaking at the press conference, Mr. Marles emphasized that Ghost Shark will be a testament to Australia's leading position in automatic underwater military technology. These ships are capable of performing intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and attack tasks, playing a key role in ensuring the comprehensive capabilities of the Navy.
Dozens of Ghost Sharks are planned to be built and handed over to the Royal Australian Navy, with the first expected to be operational in January 2026. Mr. Marles affirmed that developing this autonomous fleet will help Australia have a strong enough naval force to cope with increasingly complex strategic challenges.
He also said that Ghost Sharks will supplement the intangible nuclear-powered Submarine procurement program, as part of a billion-dollar AUD cooperation agreement between Australia, the US and the UK.
Previously, the Australian government announced an investment of 400 million AUD to develop the MQ-28A Ghost Bat military drone. This is a cooperation product between Australia and a subsidiary of Boeing (US), capable of taking on many roles, including combat.
