With the arrival of the Australian-built XL-AUV known as the ‘Ghost Shark’ to the United States, the era of advanced autonomous underwater systems has begun.
Owing to its potential in maritime defense, Anduril’s Extra Large Autonomous Undersea Vehicle (XL-AUV), Ghost Shark, has been transported to the United States for the first time. This state-of-the-art AUV, manufactured and assembled in Australia, has been airlifted in a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) C-17A in a Trans-Pacific flight, demonstrating the system’s ability to deploy quickly and easily across any territory.
The arrival of Ghost Shark Submarine AUV in the United States signified the beginning of a new chapter of exclusively controlled undersea operations. This will allow cooperation with U.S. counterparts and experimentation with this groundbreaking technology in the Pacific and Atlantic basins. Since the first Ghost Shark only currently exists in Australia, this will further push the international evolution of subsea maritime operations. Â
A Modular, Multipurpose Capability
Ghost Shark is intended to perform many subsea maritime tasks upright. Its versatile and multipurpose design, given below, can be modified quickly for a mission. This modern technology is indeed workable to change the dynamics of naval forces and constitute a credible force in strategic competition.
Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC)
As if to herald its arrival, Ghost Shark premiered on television in the United States during Exercise Rim of the Pacific, commonly known as RIMPAC, a massive naval exercise held in waters around Hawaiian islands. This exercise is an exceptional chance for Ghost Shark Submarine to showcase its capabilities with its counterparts worldwide, solidifying its position as a revolutioniser of the fully autonomous underwater vehicle industry.
Rapid Development and Testing
Anduril Australia launched the first real-life Ghost Shark a year early and on budget, demonstrating the company’s learning to rapid learning and iteration. The early production and testing have provided an operationally valuable capability in the timescale required to counter and prevent emergent threats.
Leveraging Proprietary Technology
Ghost Shark is being developed using Anduril’s AUV capability and Lattice AI software suite. This state-of-the-art technology allows Ghost Shark to work independently and actively, which makes it essential for any naval power worldwide.
Co-Development Contract
Three years back, in 2022, Anduril entered into a co-development partnership with the Royal Australian Navy and the Defence Science and Technology Group to specify and develop three ‘Ghost Shark’ XL-AUVs. It is far quicker and cheaper than conventional large-scale systems; hence, Anduril meets the current need for an affordable solution that needs to be added to competitors’ undersea networks.
Investing in R&D
The entry of Ghost Shark in the United States is an example of how Anduril invests capital in research and development to reduce the development time frame and leap ahead of traditional industry. This investment shows that Anduril is working towards providing the most current technology to sufficiently suit the requirements of naval forces around the globe.
National Defence Strategy
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) declared that uncrewed, undersea warfare is one of the most significant capabilities that should be developed due to the National Defence Strategy. The new developments in the ghost shark submarine program readily serve this capability need, offering a fleet of low-cost multi-role autonomy.
The Men-of-War of the Undersea Age
The recent acquisition of Ghost Shark for Undersea operations in the United States has provided a milestone in undersea autonomous operations. As a state-of-the-art weapon system with a modular configuration and the ability for foreign collaboration, Ghost Shark is perfect for the next generation of naval power and strategic competition’s credible combat force.
Conclusion
The upcoming Australian-built XL-AUV’ Ghost Shark’ in the United States can be a critical turning point in the manifest of naval defense. Featuring a new generation technology, modularity of the design embedded, and international cooperation capability, Ghost Shark Submarine is believed to boast the development and fielding of autonomous undersea systems needed for sustaining strategic dominance. Now that the evolution of the leading world’s naval forces is still unfolding, Ghost Shark is developing latent potential to participate in forming global undersea autonomous systems.
