Technical details were sparse as Anduril announced a prototype undersea drone in Australia last Thursday. Company officials stressed that its early, under-budget arrival couldn’t have happened for the U.S. Navy. Anduril officials signed a deal with the Royal Australian Navy in May 2022 to deliver prototypes over the next three years, aiming for a manufacture-ready vehicle by mid-2025.
Contrastingly, the U.S. Navy, seeking autonomous sub drones, faced delays and budget overruns with programs like the ORCA prototypes. Boeing was three years late and 64 percent over budget. The Navy canceled another large sub drone competition, highlighting challenges in developing such technology efficiently.
Anduril expressed confidence in producing robot subs in large numbers, emphasizing the importance of scaling in the program. While Ghost Shark isn’t part of the AUKUS agreement, discussions between Australia and the U.S. could see it becoming part of the cooperative effort on emerging technologies in the future.
