While the United States, Australia and Andrell are moving to put the XL Undersea in the service

With the help of Anduril, Australia did what the US Navy fought to complete: the transmission of a unmanned drone from the sea plate to the contract to the contract in just three years.

Andoril announced on Tuesday that a fleet of XLUV “Ghost Shark” will start operations in Australian waters next year under a huge contract of $ 1.7 billion ($ 1.1 billion).

The five -year award structure is the defense of the cup. It is a record program that maintains repeated revenue mainly by becoming an element in the country’s defense budget. The platform contract, which provides long -term monitoring and strike operations, cover, maintenance and continuous development.

It also reflects the political urgency in Australia to make new capabilities in the Indian Pacific Ocean to deter the increasing threat from China.

“At the end of the day, it comes to seriousness, imagination, and he has the will to visualize a new idea and make it bear fruit. This is what the Australian government did,” said Chris Bruce, President of Andwell in an interview. “Australia has fewer people, less than money, and many bureaucratic challenges herself faced by the Pentagon, and they were able to achieve this.”

The contradiction with the United States is blatant.

The only xluv is under development, Boeing’s OCA, are years behind the schedule. In comparison, Anduril and Australia participated in the development of Shark Ghost Shark in 2022, each put $ 50 million. The first initial model was delivered in April 2024, twelve months before the specified date, and production has already begun.

The program introduces a new model for defense purchases. Anduril put some of its own capital on the time line to acquire Derisk Australia.

Anduril does not stop with Australia.

SVP of Maritime, Shin Arnot, said that Ghost Shark could be “a country insect” quickly, which means that governments can connect their beneficial load units as needed. Anduril has already produced an American load tested off the coast of California, and it stood a 150,000 square feet factory in Rod Island to produce ghost sharks in the United States if the contract was achieved.

“The United States has the Xluu program, which is struggling for the best part of a decade,” said Bruce. “I have spent a much larger amount of money on this program from the Australian government and Andrill have spent the development of ghost shark, and it has been delayed further. We spent longer, and in the framework of water. We have the ability to work in more tasks. We are more willing to go. We are more willing to deliver on a large scale, and we will do all of this at a lower price.”

For Australia, the urgency is clear. It is the largest island country with a few population and close to Western opponents. Among them is China, which has quickly expanded the navy and pushed its ships deeper in the Pacific Ocean, including provocative exercises off the coast of Australia. This pressure made the shark a convincing solution.