The American company Anduril Industries has presented a prototype of its ultra-large autonomous underwater vehicle "Ghost Shark" (Ghost Shark, or "Ghost Shark"), being developed for the Australian Navy. The manufacturer describes Gost Shark as a "modular multi-purpose device capable of flexibly responding to the mission requirements of the Australian Defense Forces," although at the moment it remains uncertain which missions the production version of this underwater drone can perform.
Anduril Company — together with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA) and the Defense Science and Technology Group (DSTG) - on April 17, 2024, published photos of the first prototype Ghost Shark and announced that the program is being implemented with ahead of schedule and within budget. Previously, it was expected that the first prototype would appear sometime before the end of 2025.
Ghost Shark Autonomous Underwater Vehicle
The company designed the prototype under a $140 million joint development contract involving Anduril, RAN and DSTG. The contract provides for the completion of the construction of three prototypes within three years. Ultimately, Anduril plans to launch mass production of the product initially for the Australian Navy, and then for export.
Anduril's Dive-LD prototype
In terms of appearance, Gost Shark differs significantly from Anduril's previous product called Dive-LD from (where LD means "large displacement"), an autonomous underwater vehicle (APA) that served as a testbed for the program.
Boeing's autonomous underwater vehicle Orca
In addition to the fact that the "Gost Shark" is much larger than the Dive-LD, in appearance it has much more in common with another super-large APA "Orca" (Orca, aka "Killer Whale") from Boeing, the first prototype of which the US Navy received for testing in December 2023. The U.S. Navy hopes to use the Orca initially as a minesweeper before potentially later expanding its mission to underwater surveillance and/or electronic warfare.
However, according to the State Accountability Office, as of the end of 2022, unlike the Gost Shark program, the Orca program exceeded the budget by $ 242 million and was postponed for three years.
However, unlike the Killer Whale, there are currently no specifications for the Ghost Shark, so a direct comparison between them is impossible. But it is stated that the roles of the "Shark" are much broader and more ambitious. One of the notable distinguishing features of the Australian Anduril product is a small swept sail, the function of which is not entirely clear. Retractable masts on autonomous underwater vehicles are commonly used for sensors, communications equipment, and motion support.
When the Dive-LD test bed was unveiled in December 2022, Rear Admiral J. Peter Quinn explained that the device will be used for experiments, testing and validation of potential capabilities in order to better define the tasks of Gost Shark.
According to experts, the most likely role of Gost Shark will be intelligence, primarily radio engineering. Another role that experts are considering is the role of a "mother ship" for other uninhabited vehicles. Options include smaller autonomous underwater vehicles, as well as UAVs that can create kinetic effects, as well as potentially be equipped with a number of other useful devices, including various sensors and electronic warfare equipment. According to official statements, the combination of open architecture and modularity should ensure that Gost Shark can be equipped with a wide range of sensors and probably also ammunition, although, again, these details are still being worked out.
Despite the lack of clarity regarding the specific uses of Gost Shark, it is well known that Shark will rely heavily on artificial intelligence (AI) to ensure the autonomous execution of its missions. This is especially important when it comes to long-term underwater operations with limited connectivity, especially in high-threat environments. This is also an area in which Anduril specializes, focusing on AI and combat management in general, and how they can be used in various types of uninhabited systems.
Although there are also few details about the degree of autonomy that Gost Shark will have, this focus also indicates the manufacturer's broader interest in AI as a future multiplier of forces, especially in the unmanned field.
Once the various mission sensors, potential weapons and promised AI technology are combined into Gost Shark, it is expected that it will become a valuable addition to the Australian Navy's crewed submarine fleet, which is also preparing for a major overhaul with the arrival of the country's first nuclear submarines. In this scenario, the ultra-large autonomous underwater vehicle (XL-AUV) should focus on so-called "boring, dirty and dangerous missions", which will allow the new SSN-AUKUS submarines to focus on more complex operations.
The uninhabited underwater vehicle HSU-001 PLA
According to the publications, the revision of the underwater capabilities of the Australian Navy is largely due to the rapid development of the underwater forces of the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA), as well as "Beijing's growing confrontational position in the Asia-Pacific region." In its current form, the PLA submarine fleet has at least 60 submarines. At the same time, the production of various designs continues at a rapid pace. In addition to numerous advanced attack submarines, ballistic missile submarines and conventional submarines, China is also working on its own uninhabited products.
In this regard, it is believed that a multi-purpose XL-AUV with a long service life would have a lot of advantages for the Australian Navy in such an operational scenario. Currently, work on Gost Shark is under development, especially in terms of how to use it. But the appearance of the first prototype in such a short time is certainly exciting and indicates the rapidly changing face of underwater warfare, where the importance of uninhabited means will only grow.
Based on the materials of the resource twz.com
