Anduril has opened an advanced manufacturing facility in Sydney, Australia to produce its Ghost Shark Extra Large Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (XL-AUV).
The opening follows the Royal Australian Navy’s award of an A$1.7bn ($1.12bn) Programme of Record to Anduril Australia to deliver a large fleet of Ghost Shark vehicles over the next five years.
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Anduril said that the first Ghost Shark XL-AUV has rolled off the production line ahead of schedule and is ready for sea acceptance testing, with planned delivery to the Royal Australian Navy in January 2026.
The facility opening took place seven weeks after the navy contract decision. It was attended by Australia Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy and Anduril Australia chairman and CEO David Goodrich, among others.
Anduril said the Programme of Record designation followed completion of a co-development phase in which the company delivered three Ghost Shark XL-AUVs under an A$140m contract.
That co-development contract covered design and development of the three vehicles over three years.
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By GlobalDataThe new factory occupies 7,400m² and is configured to produce the Ghost Shark and its commercial baseline variant, Dive-XL, at scale.
The site includes robotic manufacturing systems, AI-driven logistics, gantry tracking, and a custom in‑water test tank for verification of buoyancy, electrical systems, and safety prior to sea trials.
Low-rate initial production has commenced, with full-scale production expected in 2026.
Anduril said that its manufacture programme involves a supply chain of more than 40 Australian small and medium-sized enterprises that supply parts, subcomponents and materials.
The facility has created more than 150 high-skilled jobs.
In addition to the XL-AUV, the factory is configured to produce the Dive-X and Dive-LD variants.
It will also support future platforms such as its Copperhead family of high-speed autonomous underwater vehicles.
Anduril Australia chairman and CEO David Goodrich said: “Today marks a defining moment in our mission to bring sovereign undersea capability to Australia. 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.”
