Mihai Sora, Pacific Islands program director at the Lowy Institute, said the Australia-PNG defence treaty was shaping up to represent a “flagship achievement for Australia in the Pacific”.
“This would represent the highest level of mutual commitment between Australia and any Pacific island nation,” he said.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy at the unveiling of the Ghost Shark at Garden Island in Sydney.Credit: Janie Barrett
“It would also be a historic shift away from PNG’s traditional non-aligned, friends-to-all policy.”
Sora said he expected some ambiguity in the way the treaty obligations are phrased, including respect for each nation’s parliamentary processes, but said this would not undermine the significance of the pact.
The government revealed on Wednesday that it will buy dozens of high-tech, locally made submarine drones under a $1.7 billion plan to boost the military’s autonomous capabilities.
The navy has awarded US defence firm Anduril a contract to develop and manufacture a fleet of Ghost Shark extra-large underwater drones, with the first vehicle scheduled to enter service in January.
Ghost Shark vessels made in Australia could then be exported to the US and other nations in a significant win for the Australian defence industry.
The undersea vehicles, which do not carry any crew, can be used to strike enemy targets such as submarines and ships while also conducting surveillance and reconnaissance missions.
“This is the highest tech capability in the world,” Defence Minister Richard Marles said in Sydney, describing the Ghost Shark as a “profoundly important capability for the Royal Australian Navy”.
Asked how the technology compares to the military capabilities displayed by China’s People’s Liberation Army at a lavish military parade in Beijing last week, Marles said: “I mean, we are really confident in standing here today and saying that Ghost Shark is the best underwater autonomous military capability on the planet”.
The Ghost Shark will cost the Australian Defence Force $1.7 billion.Credit: Janie Barrett
Marles said he had to be careful about detailing the Ghost Shark’s exact specifications and capabilities, but the black, boxy vehicles are based on a 5.8-metre-long and 2.7-tonne prototype.
They can operate autonomously for up to 10 days at a depth of up to 6000 metres, allowing them to conduct missions too difficult or dangerous for crewed vessels.
Developed for the Royal Australian Navy, the prototypes were manufactured in Sydney.
Marles said the Ghost Shark was designed to work alongside the navy’s crewed ships and submarines, including the nuclear-powered submarines Australia will acquire under the AUKUS pact.
Anduril, founded by American entrepreneur Palmer Luckey, said in a statement that the Ghost Shark’s entry into full production “marks the start of a new era of sea power through maritime autonomy”.
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“For years, Australia has faced the persistent and threatening presence of Chinese naval assets in its home waters,” the company said, adding that autonomous vehicles “can directly address this challenge through coastal defence patrols”.
A Chinese naval flotilla circumnavigated Australia in March and conducted live-fire exercises in the Tasman Strait, raising questions about Australia’s maritime surveillance capabilities.
