Australia and Andrill travel to use XL Undersea vehicles while there are US food stalls

With the help of Anduril, Australia has done what the US Navy struggles to achieve. In just three years, we will transfer extremely large undersea drones from whiteboards to contracts.

Anduril announced on Tuesday that the “Ghost Shark” fleet of XL’s fur-style Underea Vehicle (Xluuv) will begin operations in Australian waters under a $1.7 billion (US$1.1 billion) contract next year.

The five-year award structure is the Holy Grail of a defence startup. This is a record program that essentially closes repetitive revenues by becoming a line item in the country’s defense budget. The platform’s contracts provide long distance, stealth monitoring and strike operations, covering delivery, maintenance and ongoing development.

It also reflects Australia’s political urgency to divide new Indo-Pacific capabilities to stop the growing threat from China.

“In the end, this means having seriousness, having imagination, having a willingness to imagine new ideas and making them come true. That’s what the Australian government did.” “In Australia, there are fewer many of the same bureaucratic challenges our Pentagon has, and they have less money, and they were able to achieve this.”

The contrast with the US is severe.

The only Xluuv under development, Boeing Orca, is late in schedule. In comparison, Anduril and Australia funded Ghost Shark in 2022, jointly developing and investing $50 million each. The first prototype was released 12 months ahead of schedule in April 2024, and production has already begun.

The program presents a new model of defense procurement. Andrill put some of his own capital on the line at the derisk of Australia’s rapid acquisition timeline.

Andrill has not stopped in Australia.

Maritime SVP Shane Arnott said ghost sharks could be “meditated in the country” quickly. This means that the government can plug in its own payload modules if necessary. Anduril already produces US payloads that are being tested on the California coast, and if the contract is realized, it will launch a 150,000-square-foot factory in Rhode Island and produce ghost sharks in the US.

“The US had an XLUUV program that we’ve struggled for most of the decade,” says Brose. “We’ve spent a significant amount of money on that program than the Australian government and Andrill spent developing the capabilities of the Ghost Sharks. It’s even more behind. We’ve spent more of our ability to work on more missions. We’re more prepared.

For Australia, the urgency is clear. It is the largest island nation with a small population and close to the western enemy. The main one is China. China rapidly expanded its navy and pushed the ship deeper into the Pacific Ocean, including provocative training off the Australian coast. That pressure made Ghost Shark a compelling solution.