Anduril Australia Establishes First Manufacturing Facility for Ghost Shark XL-AUVs

Anduril Australia is set to establish its first Australian manufacturing facility for the production of Ghost Shark Extra Large Autonomous Undersea Vehicles (XL-AUVs).

The new factory will have the capacity to produce significant quantities of these advanced underwater vehicles, both for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and its allies in the Asia-Pacific region. Additionally, the facility will produce the commercial Dive-XL variant.

Designed for scalability and mass production, the Ghost Shark incorporates a modular design and advanced manufacturing techniques. This approach enables rapid iteration based on specific customer needs, making the Ghost Shark a potentially cost-effective and autonomous solution for maritime defense.

Chief Defence Scientist, Professor Tanya Monro AC, emphasized the design focus on manufacturability and mass production, which is intended to enhance supply chain resilience. The Ghost Shark supply chain currently involves over forty-two Australian companies, with the Early Works Contract supporting investments in the local industry to scale alongside Anduril Australia.

In a bid to accelerate the production readiness of the Ghost Shark, Defence and Anduril Australia have entered into a co-funded Early Works Contract. The Australian government has invested A$20.1 million in this initiative, while Anduril Australia is expected to make a substantially larger investment. These funds will support hiring, scaling the sovereign supply chain, and constructing infrastructure necessary for transitioning the Ghost Shark program from prototype to production. Subject to further government approvals, the first production variant is expected to be available by the end of 2025.

Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery, Pat Conroy MP, stated in an August 5th media release that the Ghost Shark Early Works Contract is an example of the government's efforts to accelerate the delivery of sovereign defense capabilities by incentivizing substantial capital investments from industry.

The Ghost Shark XL-AUV is designed to provide the Navy with a stealthy, long-range undersea capability, capable of conducting intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and strike missions. The ability to develop, manufacture, and deploy these systems at scale and within an operationally relevant timeline is viewed as essential for defending Australia's vast maritime boundaries.

The Ghost Shark program is a collaboration between the RAN, Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG), Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA), and Anduril Australia. Professor Emily Hilder, Head of ASCA, noted that the program exemplifies the role of ASCA in accelerating defense capabilities by uniting various components of the defense enterprise with industry partners like Anduril Australia.

The program, with a total value exceeding $180 million, has been jointly funded by the Commonwealth and Anduril Australia.

Anduril’s new Australian facility is part of the company’s expanding global manufacturing footprint. This includes plans for Arsenal-1, a 5-million-square-foot facility designed to hyperscale defense production, and a recently opened production facility in Rhode Island, USA, which aims to increase Dive-LD production to 200 units per year. The company also announced a $75 million USD investment to expand manufacturing capacity for solid rocket motors in Mississippi.