How advanced undersea drones unveiled in Pacific could change future of warfare

Sleek and stealthy new breeds of Ghost Sharks and Manta Rays are about to stalk the underwater worlds of the Pacific.

These are not fish but prototype uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUV), which could transform the future of underwater warfare with their ability to carry weapons, gather intelligence and even hibernate on the seafloor to save power.

The two undersea drones have been developed for the military in Australia and the US and are part of the changing face of naval capabilities.

Surface sea drones have recently been used in the war in Ukraine, with the destruction of a Russian warship in the Black Sea near the Crimean peninsula earlier this year. Ukraine announced in January it had launched underwater drone project Fury (First Ukrainian Robotic Navy) to target the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

Australia aims to take this technology further with its large, black Ghost Shark complete with fin, jointly developed and funded by Australia’s Defence department and defence technology firm Anduril. With its Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (Asca), it has been described as “the most advanced undersea autonomous vehicles in the world”.

The first prototype of underwater drone the Ghost Shark, co-developed by the Royal Australian Navy and Anduril Australia (Photo: Rodney Braithwaite/Australia Defence)

A A$140m deal will see three Ghost Shark extra-large autonomous undersea vehicles (XL-AUV) built within three years.

Australia’s defence department said late last month that the undersea drone would provide its navy with “a stealthy, long-range autonomous undersea warfare capability which can conduct persistent intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and strike”.

Billed as “a modular, multi-purpose capability that can flexibly respond”, the Ghost Shark is seen as a crucial tool for protecting Australia, according to Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Mark Hammond.

He said: “We are a nation girt by sea, and the Ghost Shark is one of the tools we are developing for the Navy to patrol and protect our oceans and our connection to the world.”

Ghost Shark is expected to delivered for use by the end of 2025, and will provide the Royal Australian Navy with a stealthy, long-range autonomous undersea warfare capability that can conduct persistent intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and strikes (Photo: Australia Defence)

Manufacturers Anduril said the prototype underwater drone was on budget and ahead of schedule and they were now “moving incredibly quickly on this program”.

The Ghost Shark programme launched in the middle of 2022 and is expected to be delivered by the end of 2025.

Meanwhile, the US also has its sights set below sea, with the imposing Manta Ray prototype UUV ready to glide below the surface.

Built by defence technology firm Northrop Grumman, it completed full-scale, in-water testing off the coast of Southern California in February and March this year.

The Manta Ray vehicle is towed in preparation for testing (Photo: Northrop Grumman).

The Manta Ray can be shipped in five parts and can glide through the water and hibernate at the bottom in a low-power state (Photo: Northrop Grumman)

Dr Kyle Woerner, Manta Ray programme manager for the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) said this month: “Our successful, full-scale Manta Ray testing validates the vehicle’s readiness to advance toward real-world operations after being rapidly assembled in the field from modular subsections.

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“The combination of cross-country modular transportation, in-field assembly, and subsequent deployment demonstrates a first-of-kind capability for an extra-large UUV.”

It can be shipped in five parts to its required location and built on site and is described as “a new class of long-duration, long-range, payload-capable UUVs ready for persistent operations in dynamic maritime environments”.

Dr Woerner added: “Once deployed, the vehicle uses efficient, buoyancy-driven gliding to move through the water.

“The craft is designed with several payload bays of multiple sizes and types to enable a wide variety of naval mission sets.”

It can also anchor to the seafloor and hibernate in a low-power state.

Australia and the US are not the only nations to be focusing on warfare below the waves.

China is also reported to have spent the last 15 years developing UUV capabilities and is now at the testing phase.

Website Covert Shores revealed last week that Chinese defence exports company Poly Technology had unveiled its UUV-300 family of extra-large uncrewed underwater vehicles, which are about 12m long and two metres wide and appear able to carry up to four lightweight torpedoes and mines.

“We are witnessing a technological revolution which is reshaping naval warfare,” wrote author HI Sutton. “Uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs) are developing at an incredible rate, and it is increasingly likely that they will be armed.

“Based on drones in the water, and efforts at defence shows, China is leading the world in this emerging technology.”