Australia’s Ghost Shark sub grows some ‘teeth’

‘SWARMS’: The new submarine is to carry up to 12 sea mines, equipment for special forces and Altius aerial drones that can conduct reconnaissance and strike

Australia is boosting its undersea warfare capability by equipping its Ghost Shark autonomous submarine with “swarms” of aerial drones and sea mines, the Department of Defence said yesterday.

US defense technology start-up Anduril jointly developed the extra large submarine drone with Australia’s defense scientists, and is building a Ghost Shark fleet for Canberra under a A$1.8 billion (US$1.3 billion) contract.

The AUKUS partners of Australia, Britain and the US pledged this year to develop interchangeable payloads for drones used in undersea warfare, in addition to their nuclear submarine cooperation.

Australin Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy, right, speaks to the media alongside Royal Australian Navy Chief Vice Admiral Matthew Buckley in front of the Ghost Shark autonomous undersea vehicle at an Anduril facility in Sydney yesterday.

Photo: AFP

Australian Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy said in Sydney that after secret trials three payloads had been approved to “do things we don’t want humans to do.”

The Ghost Shark is to carry up to 12 sea mines, equipment for special forces, and Anduril’s Altius aerial drones that can be launched at sea to form swarms to conduct reconnaissance and strike, he said.

Potential adversaries would have to consider that any shipping container at an Australian wharf could have a Ghost Shark in it, he said.

“Not only could there be Ghost Sharks in those shipping containers, but those Ghost Sharks now have teeth,” he said.

Australia, concerned at the rapid build-up of China’s navy and tensions in the South China Sea, is rapidly expanding its investment in drones.

The Ghost Shark can travel long distances and would work in tandem with the crewed submarine fleet, officials said.

“A range of other countries” had expressed interest in acquiring the Ghost Shark, Conroy said.

China is focused on developing undersea sensors, weapons and autonomous vehicles to counter US submarines, the US Navy’s intelligence director told a US government committee in May.

Anduril earlier this month won a US$2.9 billion US Navy contract to build components for the US Navy’s Virginia-class submarine and said it would build a new submarine shipyard in the US.

The US is seeking to speed up production so it can sell the submarines to Australia under the AUKUS agreement.