Australia yesterday said it would deploy a US$1.1 billion fleet of “Ghost Shark” underwater attack drones to bolster its firepower in a “threatening” regional landscape.
The Royal Australian Navy is to arm itself with dozens of the home-developed, cutting-edge autonomous drones, with the first entering service in January next year, it said.
Australia is in the middle of a major military restructure, equipping its navy with long-range strike capabilities in an effort to balance China’s expanding military might in the Pacific.
Photo: Kym Smith / Australian Defence Force / AFP
The government said it had signed a A$1.7 billion (US$1.12 billion) five-year contract with Anduril Australia to build, maintain and develop the extra-large, uncrewed undersea vehicles, creating 150 jobs.
“This is the highest tech capability in the world,” Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles told a news conference, saying it would have a “very long range,” as well as stealth capabilities.
“Australia is leading the world in terms of autonomous underwater military capabilities and Ghost Shark is capable of engaging in intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and strike,” he said.
The drones, which can be launched from shore or warships, would complement Australia’s strategic enhancements to its submarine and surface fleets, the minister said, declining to provide the exact number to be built.
“Australia faces the most complex, in some ways the most threatening strategic landscape that we have had since the end of the Second World War,” Marles said. “All that we are doing in terms of building a much more capable Defence Force is to deter conflict and to provide for the peace and stability of the region in which we live.”
Australia aims to acquire stealthy, nuclear-powered submarines in a multidecade AUKUS agreement signed in 2021 with the UK and the US.
However, US President Donald Trump’s administration has put AUKUS under review to ensure it aligns with his “America First agenda.”
“For years, Australia has faced the persistent and threatening presence of Chinese naval assets in its home waters. Ghost Shark ... can directly address this challenge through coastal defense patrols and area-wide domain awareness powered by artificial intelligence at scale,” Anduril said in a statement.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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