Role & capabilities
- Persistent undersea surveillance
- Modular naval missions
- Integration with autonomous fleet operations
- Primary domain
- Underwater
- System type
- Autonomous underwater vehicle
- Developer / manufacturer
- Anduril Australia; Australian Defence co-development
- Origin / production countries
- Australia
- Other names
- No additional names recorded
- Variants / configurations
- Named configuration; see the evidence and specification notes
- Operators / programme customers
- Royal Australian Navy — acquisition and integration programme
Evidence & current status
Production and unit assignment are documented; export-priority status does not prove a new overseas customer. No exact final acceptance date or undisclosed numerical specification has been inferred.
Ghost Shark is an Australian extra-large autonomous underwater vehicle developed by Anduril Australia with the Royal Australian Navy and Defence science organisations. It is intended for persistent undersea observation and modular naval missions alongside crewed capabilities.
Three prototypes were delivered during co-development. Anduril's October 2025 factory announcement described the first production vehicle as ready for sea acceptance testing before a planned January 2026 handover. That establishes a production programme, but the planned date alone is not an acceptance certificate. Australian Defence assigned Ghost Shark to the emerging Maritime Autonomous Systems Unit in April 2026.
In a July 2026 National Press Club speech, the Defence Industry Minister designated Ghost Shark a new export priority under the Australian Defence Strategic Sales Office. The announcement confirms continuing industrial and export-policy support. It does not identify a new overseas operator or disclose the number of operational production vehicles.
The reviewed official material still does not provide a consistent numerical set for depth, payload and endurance. Dive-LD and broader Dive-XL marketing figures are therefore not copied into the Australian naval configuration. Dated handover records and configuration-specific technical disclosures remain priorities for subsequent revisions.
Sourced specifications
Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.
| Specification | Reported value | Context & source |
|---|---|---|
| Configuration | Extra-large autonomous underwater vehicle | Published specification for the cited configuration; payload, environment and speed affect performance. Source |
| Hull / propulsion | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source |
| Dimensions | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source |
| Displacement / mass | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source |
| Payload | Configurable naval mission payloads; public capacity not established | Mission role is disclosed; numerical carrying capacity is not established in reviewed sources. Source |
| Endurance | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source |
| Range | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source |
| Speed | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source |
| Operating depth | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source |
| Sensors | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source |
| Communications / control | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source |
| Launch / deployment | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source |
Documented milestones
Export-priority designation announced
The Defence Industry Minister named Ghost Shark a priority under the Australian Defence Strategic Sales Office.
Read the announcementNavy unit assignment announced
Australian Defence named MASU and listed Ghost Shark among the capabilities the unit would operate.
Read the announcementProduction factory opened
Anduril announced its Sydney factory and a first production vehicle ready for sea acceptance testing.
Read the announcement
Publication history
- — Add July 2026 Australian government export-priority milestone while preserving the distinction between production and final acceptance.
- — Added sourced land and maritime coverage with domain-specific evidence and limitations.
Suggest a correction to this entry
Follow the evidence
Source types identify who makes the claim. Programme milestones and supplier statements should be read in context.
- Anduril Ghost Shark factory and acceptance-testing announcement (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer
- Australian Defence: Maritime Autonomous Systems Unit (opens in a new tab)Government
- Australian Chief of Defence Force programme update (opens in a new tab)Government
- Australian minister names Ghost Shark export priority, 2 July 2026 (opens in a new tab)Government
