Anduril Australia has opened a Ghost Shark manufacturing facility in Sydney and announced the first Ghost Shark Extra Large Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (XL-AUV) has rolled off the production line ahead of schedule and is ready for in-water testing, the company said in a media release.
The opening, held seven weeks after the Royal Australian Navy awarded a AUD 1.7 billion Program of Record to Anduril Australia, was attended by the Hon Pat Conroy MP, Minister for Defence Industry; Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AO, Chief of Navy; Dr Shane Arnott, SVP, Anduril Industries; and David Goodrich OAM, Chairman & CEO, Anduril Australia.
According to Anduril’s statement, the purpose-built factory combines advanced robotic manufacturing, AI-driven logistics and a custom test tank for in-water verification of buoyancy, electrical systems and safety prior to sea trials.
The company said Low-Rate Initial Production of the Ghost Shark program has commenced, with a transition to full-scale production planned for 2026, and that the first vehicle is being prepared for undersea testing ahead of a planned delivery to the Royal Australian Navy in January 2026.
The media release noted the Program of Record followed a AUD 140 million co-development contract under which Anduril said it delivered three Ghost Shark XL-AUVs ahead of schedule and on budget.
Anduril said the Sydney facility is configured to manufacture the Ghost Shark and its commercial baseline, the Dive-XL, at scale and – subject to Australian government approval – to supply vehicles for export to allies and partners.
“Our mission [is] to bring sovereign undersea capability to Australia,” David Goodrich OAM, Chairman & CEO, Anduril Australia, said in the release.
“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 defence of our nation. Affordable, disruptive and distributed mass is a central tenet of undersea deterrence, and we look forward to supporting Australia and its allies by producing Ghost Sharks right here in Sydney.”
The company said the Ghost Shark manufacture program draws on a supply chain of more than 40 Australian small and medium enterprises that supply parts, subcomponents and materials, and that the facility has created more than 150 high-skilled jobs.
The release also said the factory can support production of Dive-XL and Dive-LD variants and is ready to support future platforms, including the Copperhead family of high-speed AUVs.
“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,” the Hon Pat Conroy MP, Minister for Defence Industry, said in the release.
“The opening of this factory is about backing Australian ingenuity and innovation, but also securing hundreds of well-paid highp-skilled jobs and a future made in Australia.”
Anduril described the facility’s integrated robotic production systems, AI ground vehicles and gantry tracking, alongside adjacent engineering labs, as elements intended to shorten verification and tuning cycles before sea trials.
