Anduril Industries celebrated a dual milestone with the production of the first Ghost Shark autonomous submarine and the official launch of its advanced manufacturing plant in Sydney, Australia.
What Is Ghost Shark?
The inaugural Ghost Shark extra-large autonomous underwater vehicle completed its production run ahead of schedule. It is now slated for immediate sea acceptance testing before its expected delivery to the Royal Australian Navy, or RAN, in January 2026.
Ghost Shark will provide RAN with a stealthy, long-range undersea platform capable of carrying out intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and strike operations. The rapid development, manufacturing and fielding of the drones at scale will be critical to defending Australia’s maritime boundaries, Anduril said in an earlier press release.
What is the Facility’s Role in Future Defense Production?
The new 7,400-square-meter facility is custom-engineered to move the Ghost Shark into mass production, starting with Low-Rate Initial Production and ramping up to full-scale manufacturing by 2026.
The production process integrates advanced robotic assembly, artificial intelligence-driven logistics and an on-site test tank for in-water systems verification.
Beyond its core mission, the site is configured to produce Dive-XL and Dive-LD variants to be exported to allies, pending Australian government approval.
The entire manufacturing effort is expected to bolster local industry, drawing on a supply chain of over 40 Australian small and medium-sized enterprises for components and materials and creating 150 new high-skilled jobs.
“Today marks a defining moment in our mission to bring sovereign undersea capability to Australia,” commented David Goodrich, chairman and CEO of Anduril Australia. “With the opening of this new facility, we are not only building local infrastructure and workforce — we are investing in innovation, in partnerships and in the future defense of our nation.”
The factory opening comes seven weeks after the defense company secured a $1.1 billion contract from the RAN to produce a fleet of Ghost Sharks over the next five years.
“The Ghost Shark is the most high-tech long-range autonomous underwater capability that exists in the world today and the Albanese Government is proud to have supported its development,” added Pat Conroy, Australia’s minister for defense industry.