Ghost Sharks to be armed with aerial drones and advanced sea mines

Australia's fleet of Ghost Sharks will carry armed aerial drones and sea mines In short: Australia's Ghost Shark submarines will carry advanced sea mines and launch armed aerial drones, according to newly declassified details. While it was previously known the Ghost Sharks were armed, until now it has not been clear exactly how it could strike potential adversaries. What's next? The sea mine and drone capabilities are being offered to the UK and US under AUKUS technology-sharing arrangements. Australia's fleet of lethal Ghost Shark underwater drones will be armed with explosive aerial drones and advanced sea mines. Dozens of Ghost Sharks are being delivered to the Royal Australian Navy over the next few years under a $1.7 billion contract signed last year. While it was previously known to carry lethal capabilities, until today the specifics of exactly what sort of payload it could carry were heavily classified. Defence today revealed three of the autonomous submarines' key capabilities. One is an ability to launch swarms of Anduril Altius aerial drones which can be used for reconnaissance or carry four kilograms of explosives to target enemy vessels. It can also carry up to 12 sea mines at a time, which Defence says can be used to quickly close access to critical waterways. And it can also carry special supply caches, essentially dropping supplies for special forces units in hard-to-reach locations. Contracts for the supply of Ghost Shark drones were only signed last September, and while the total number is not being revealed, "dozens and dozens" are expected to be delivered to the navy. The first was delivered in January this year, and Ghost Sharks are in service this month at joint Maritime Big Play exercises with the United States and United Kingdom off Southern California. Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said the Ghost Sharks carried a different threat to potential adversaries. "Those Ghost Sharks now have teeth,"he said. "Teeth with the ability to deny areas through them through mining. Teeth with the ability to strike targets thousands of nautical miles away from Australia." Fleets of uncrewed subs The Ghost Shark is described as a "force multiplier", designed to operate alongside crewed submarines and take on dangerous, difficult or mundane workloads. It is built with a modular design, meaning it can be fitted out with different capabilities for different missions, including carrying torpedoes, reconnaissance equipment and personnel. David Goodrich from Anduril Australia said it was designed to free up naval personnel from the worst tasks. "Ghost Shark will do the dull, dirty and dangerous missions previously tasked to our sailors, leaving them to do the high-value missions and jobs,"he said. He said mine laying was a clear example. "Ghost Shark will autonomously, accurately and securely deploy naval mines at significantly lower cost and risk than using a surface ship or crewed asset," he said. The new Ghost Shark capabilities are being offered to the US and UK under AUKUS Pillar Two technology sharing arrangements designed to be interoperable with whatever autonomous systems they choose to use. Questions over global appetite The Ghost Shark and its aerial counterpart, the uncrewed Ghost Bat, are two of Australia's most significant defence innovations in recent years. Both carry significant hopes for export, with countries such as Germany actively exploring options like the Ghost Bat. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius visited Australia in March, addressing the National Press Club. He later said Germany was formally investigating the possibility. But news outlet Politico recently reported that Germany had dropped plans to directly acquire the Ghost Bat, and would instead consider it among other European-developed alternatives. Mr Conroy today sought to downplay the German shift. "My understanding is the German government has adopted a slightly different procurement strategy where they intend to run an open competition," he said. The Ghost Shark is one of a number of similar uncrewed submarines in development or production around the world, including the United States Navy's Orca. Mr Conroy said the US and UK would get the chance to see the Ghost Shark at upcoming exercises, and he "hasn't given up hope" they would take an interest. But he said payloads were the export focus under AUKUS Pillar Two. "The decision around marquee projects was to invest in common payloads and sensors," he said. "We all have a range of our own platforms to deliver them."