Anduril Ghost Shark Extra-Large Autonomous Undersea Vehicle

What the Anduril Ghost Shark Is and Who Builds It

Ghost Shark is an uncrewed extra-large autonomous undersea vehicle that Anduril Australia builds in Sydney for the Royal Australian Navy. Naval News reports that the Navy's Maritime Autonomous Systems Unit (MASU) operates it alongside the Bluebottle uncrewed surface vessel and the Speartooth large uncrewed underwater vehicle.

The Naval Historical Society of Australia reports that most of the vehicle can be flooded, with sensors and weapons held in pressure sanctuaries.

The builder is Anduril Australia, part of Anduril. Breaking Defense names David Goodrich as Anduril Australia's CEO and Chairman. The program began as a co-development effort with the Royal Australian Navy and the Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG). Breaking Defense reports that Anduril senior vice-president Shane Arnott was among those who attended the first production ceremony.

Naval Technology reports that the Sydney factory covers 7,400 m² and is set up to build Ghost Shark and its commercial baseline variant, Dive-XL, at scale. Breaking Defense says the plant includes integrated robotic production, AI ground vehicles and a custom test tank. Navigation and mission execution run on Anduril's Lattice software, according to Army Recognition.

Anduril Ghost Shark Fleet Size and Contract Value

Australian Defence values the Ghost Shark production contract at A$1.7 billion over five years and has not said how many vehicles it buys. Naval News, citing the Defence release of 10 September 2025, reports that the contract covers delivery, maintenance and continued development.

Agence France-Presse (AFP), reported by The Star, put the fleet at Au$1.8 billion (US$1.3 billion), against the A$1.7 billion in Defence's own release.

CONTACT reports that Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles would not give a number, citing security, but said the first tranche would include "dozens" of units. Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy's only fleet figure, as reported by DroneXL and ABC News, is "dozens and dozens".

No unit price has been published. Dividing A$1.7 billion by any vehicle count does not give a unit price, because the contract also pays for maintenance and development, and Defence has not published the split. The program sits inside up to A$5.8 billion that the Government says it is investing over the decade in autonomous and uncrewed undersea warfare, per Naval News.

From Prototype to Program of Record

Ghost Shark went from an idea to a $1.7 billion program of record in about three years, according to Goodrich, as quoted by CONTACT. Breaking Defense reports a co-development contract signed in May 2022 for three prototypes over three years.

Naval News reported in December 2022 that in May 2022 Anduril had entered "commercial negotiations" for a US$100 million co-funded program, so sources describe that month's status differently.

The name was formally given on 12 December 2022 at Anduril Australia's Sydney Harbour headquarters, and the Naval Historical Society says the vehicle was earlier called the Orca. The first prototype, Ghost Shark 'Alpha', was unveiled at Garden Island, Sydney, on 18 April 2024, a year ahead of schedule, per Army Recognition. Naval Technology reports that 121 engineers from 42 Australian companies assembled it.

The War Zone reports that an Anduril-funded example was flown to Hawaii in a Royal Australian Air Force C-17A and displayed at the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2024 exercise. In August 2024, Naval News reports, Australia and Anduril Australia each put A$20.1 million into early manufacturing work.

Army Recognition says all three prototypes were completed by mid-2025, and Conroy said they arrived on budget and ahead of schedule.

Defence made Ghost Shark a program of record on 10 September 2025, with low-rate initial production starting immediately, per Naval News. Army Recognition dates the factory opening to 31 October 2025, and ABC News reports the first production vehicle was delivered in January 2026. The Navy activated MASU on 14 April 2026, bringing Ghost Shark into operational service, according to Army Recognition.

Published Design Details and Unpublished Specifications

Ghost Shark's published design is a largely free-flooding hull with sealed compartments, electric propulsion and a propeller, according to Army Recognition. Arnott told The War Zone that the payload section uses modular hull sections with built-in data and power buses. He said the nose and tail are separate pieces. The middle payload section can be lengthened, and Arnott cited "requests for over a dozen new payloads".

Arnott also told The War Zone the design uses no exotic materials and is meant for large-scale production. AFP reports Conroy saying any shipping container at an Australian wharf could hold a Ghost Shark. Senior officials say Ghost Shark can operate from shore, surface vessels and containers around the Australian mainland, per Army Recognition.

Army Recognition reports that Ghost Shark's dimensions, displacement, speed, battery, endurance and depth are classified. Defence describes XL-AUVs of this class as typically 10 to 30 m long, per Army Recognition. The Naval Historical Society calls the vehicle "school-bus sized", and Popular Science reported that the final design is 4 to 24 m longer than the 5.8 m Dive-LD.

Arnott told The War Zone the vehicles are "very, very long-range assets". No range figure has been released. The 6,000 m depth and ten-day endurance that the Naval Historical Society quotes belong to the Dive-LD testbed.

Roles and Payloads

MASU, which operates Ghost Shark, has a stated focus on persistent, long-range intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and strike missions, according to Naval News. Arnott described Ghost Shark to The War Zone as a "mothership" for other uncrewed systems. ABC News describes it as a "force multiplier" working alongside crewed submarines.

ABC News reports Defence's claim that payloads declassified on 19 October 2026 give Ghost Shark up to 12 sea mines, swarms of Anduril Altius drones and supply caches for special forces. The military underwater drones guide sets out the payloads Defence declassified in October 2026 and the exercise context.

Goodrich told ABC News that Ghost Shark will take on "dull, dirty and dangerous" missions now handled by sailors, at lower cost and risk than a surface ship or crewed asset. Naval News reported in 2024 that Anduril calls the vehicle "attritable" in wartime because of its marginal cost and lack of crew.

Ghost Shark, Dive-XL and the US Navy

Dive-XL is Anduril's commercial baseline for Ghost Shark, according to Breaking Defense, and it is the version the US Navy picked. The War Zone reports that Ghost Shark draws on the Dive-LD, first designed by Dive Technologies, which Anduril acquired in 2022. How Dive-XL physically differs from Ghost Shark has not been published.

The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and the US Navy selected Anduril in March 2026 for the Combat Autonomous Maritime Platform Project (CAMP), to prototype and field XL-AUVs. Naval News reports that Anduril must complete a long-duration Dive-XL demonstration within four months of award.

Anduril says its facility in Quonset Point, Rhode Island, is designed to deliver dozens of Dive-XLs and hundreds of Dive-LDs per year, per Naval News. The extra-large uncrewed undersea vehicle (XLUUV) guide covers the wider vehicle class.

Neither the US Navy nor the Royal Navy has committed to buying Ghost Shark, according to Army Recognition. Under AUKUS (Australia, United Kingdom, United States) Pillar Two, Conroy said, per DroneXL, that the work is "more about the payloads", while the hull remains a priority export campaign.

Breaking Defense reports that any Ghost Sharks built in Sydney for allies need Australian government export approval, and no approval has been reported.

Production, Fleet Disclosure and Exports to Watch

Breaking Defense reports that Anduril expects full-scale production in 2026, and Naval Technology gives the same year. Naval News instead reported "high rate production" planned by 2026, and Conroy said in October 2026 that Ghost Sharks are "rolling off the line at an increasing rate". The factory's annual output has not been published.

Australia has not published a fleet count. Defence confirmed on 15 April 2026 that the Navy had taken delivery of Ghost Shark vehicles without giving a count, per Army Recognition.

On exports, AFP reports Conroy saying "a range of other countries" have expressed interest. Anduril's stated export aims in 2024 included the US, UK, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and European countries, per Naval News. To compare Ghost Shark with Dive-LD, Dive-XL and Anduril's other undersea vehicles, read the Anduril underwater drones overview.