ANDURIL AWARDED $1.7BN GHOST SHARK PROGRAM OF RECORD

The Royal Australian Navy has awarded Anduril a A$1.7BN contract to deliver, develop and support a large fleet of Ghost Shark Extra Large Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (XL-AUV) over the next five years. The Ghost Sharks will be manufactured in a state-of-the-art facility in Australia. 

The Program of Record follows successful delivery of all three Ghost Shark XL-AUVs, and multiple highly capable mission payload modules, on schedule and on-budget as part of the initial AU$140M three year co-development contract. This was a first of its kind collaboration between the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA) and Anduril Australia.

Ghost Shark is an Extra Large Autonomous Undersea Vehicle (XL-AUV) that provides Navy with a cost-effective, stealthy, long-range, trusted undersea capability that can conduct persistent and disruptive intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR) and strike. It leverages an all-electric powertrain capable of executing long-range, long-duration missions without surfacing, preserving stealth and increasing time on mission. 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. The modular capability and design-for-production allows for the platform to be manufactured at scale as part of the Program of Record.

The Navy has conducted continuous rigorous testing and stringent capability trials with the Ghost Shark, with the systems exceeding the highest expectations. 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 realised.

The manufacture of Ghost Sharks will commence immediately with Low-Rate Initial Production and move to High-Rate production in 2026. The Australian manufacturing facility is capable of producing large numbers of Ghost Sharks for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and its allies, as well as the commercial Dive-XL variant. 

The Ghost Shark supply chain involves over forty sovereign Australian companies who have been scaling their manufacturing operations alongside Anduril Australia to be ready to enter full rate production to support the RAN and to serve the international export market opportunities.

Quotes attributable to Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon Richard Marles MP:

"The Ghost Shark is a world-leading platform made right here in Australia. 

"The Albanese Government's investments in the Ghost Shark are fast-charging the development of long‑range, undersea autonomous vehicles for our Navy while also backing Australian businesses. 

"Over the next five years and beyond the Ghost Shark will equip Navy with the intelligence, surveillance and strike capabilities it needs in an increasingly complex strategic environment."

Quotes attributable to Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon Pat Conroy MP:

"This is a critical capability that the Albanese Government is delivering at pace - with all three prototypes delivered on budget and ahead of schedule.

"Our investment backs in 120 existing workers and creates more than 150 new high-skilled, local jobs.

"This reflects the Albanese Government's unwavering commitment to supporting Australian innovation, backing Australian workers and building a defence future made in Australia."

Quotes attributable to David Goodrich OAM, Executive Chairman and CEO, Anduril Australia:

"Ghost Shark has reached Program of Record status in just three years — a remarkable milestone made possible through an unprecedented co-development and co-investment partnership with NAVY, DSTG and ASCA. This achievement reflects what is possible when Defence and industry work shoulder-to-shoulder: ideating, innovating, and inspiring each other to deliver extraordinary advancements in subsea technology.

"To prepare for this moment, Anduril invested ahead of contract to establish a world-class factory in Australia, complete with state-of-the-art production systems to manufacture Ghost Shark domestically. Sovereign production has already commenced, supporting the Royal Australian Navy and our Indo-Pacific partners, while our global expansion continues with the opening of a dedicated facility in the United States to serve our US customers.

"This success belongs to the Anduril Australia team, who have given their all to the Ghost Shark program. They have exceeded operational capability expectations, delivered on every promise, and done so ahead of schedule and on budget— an extraordinary feat considering the program began from scratch only three years ago.

"We are deeply grateful for the vision and backing of our US parent company and the collaboration of our colleagues worldwide, who together embody the spirit of One-Anduril. In the unforgiving undersea domain, where challenges are immense, Ghost Shark stands as proof of what can be achieved through true partnership, determination, and innovation.

"This is not the end of the journey. We are already working intensely on the next wave of cutting-edge autonomous capabilities, and we are committed to delivering the technologies that will safeguard Australia and strengthen our allies and partners in the years ahead."

For images to accompany this release, please see here. Event images with key spokespeople will be added throughout the day. A VNR to accompany this announcement will be uploaded here this afternoon: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1sSSlGIICgUCvL0-4z8lkiTfcgUEsey0d

For more information on Anduril and its products visit: https://www.anduril.com/