Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles says large underwater attack drones have ‘very long range’ of operations.

Richard Marles, Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, and Pat Conroy, Australian Minister for Defence Industry, pose beside an Anduril Ghost Shark Extra Large Autonomous Undersea Vehicle (XL-AUV) displayed at the Royal Australian Navy base HMAS Kuttabul, in Sydney, Australia, September 10, 2025. REUTERS/Hollie Adams

Richard Marles, left, Australia's minister for defence, and Pat Conroy, minister for defence industry, stand beside a Ghost Shark drone at the Royal Australian Navy base HMAS Kuttabul, in Sydney, Australia, on September 10, 2025 [Hollie Adams/Reuters]

Australia will spend 1.7 billion Australian dollars ($1.1bn) on a fleet of extra-large underwater “Ghost Shark” attack drones, in a move that officials said would supplement the country’s plans to acquire sophisticated nuclear-powered submarines.

Australian Minister for Defence Richard Marles said on Wednesday that the Ghost Shark autonomous underwater vehicles will complement Australia’s naval surface fleet and submarines to provide “a more capable and more lethal navy”.

"This is a profoundly important capability for the Royal Australian Navy,” Marles said.

“We have consistently articulated that Australia faces the most complex, in some ways, the most threatening, strategic landscape that we have had since the end of the second world war,” Marles said.

The government said it signed the $1.1bn, five-year contract with Anduril Australia to build, maintain and develop the uncrewed undersea vehicles in Australia.

“This is the highest tech capability in the world,” Marles said, adding that the drones would have a “very long range” as well as stealth capabilities.

Australia is in the midst of a major military restructuring, focused on bolstering its long-range strike capabilities in an effort to balance China’s expanding military might in the Asia Pacific region.