Australia is ramping up its maritime defences with the launch of two new underwater devices, which both use AI-powered autonomous systems.
The first is a mini-sub known as the ‘ghost shark’, which was unveiled in Sydney Harbour last month, while the second is an underwater surveillance drone developed in Perth on the west coast, close to where a US-Australian naval base is planned for nuclear submarines in the 2030s.
These moves come amid growing public concern about rising geopolitical tension and China’s huge naval expansion in recent years and its apparent desire to remind its neighbours about its growing maritime clout in the Pacific and regional waters.
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Australia signed a contentious and very expensive defence agreement with the United States and the United Kingdom in 2021, known as AUKUS.
That deal is currently being reviewed by the Trump Administration, but if endorsed, as expected, later this year, Australia should eventually receive three top-grade US nuclear submarines.
Aside from the enormous cost – A$368-billion, there has been concern that the first of these Virginia-class subs may not be handed over till the late 2030s.
That long wait – and aggressive posturing by China, which conducted a live-fire exercise in waters between Australia and New Zealand in February – has spurred calls for an immediate ramp-up of defence systems in the intervening years.
Anxiety about Australia’s outdated and insufficient warships – with just 10 combatant vessels – led to the announcement of a $6.5 billion deal in August to buy multiple frigates from Japan to eventually double the size of its naval fleet.
Under the agreement, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will supply the Royal Australian Navy with three upgraded Mogami-class multi-role frigates built in Japan from 2029. Eight more of those vessels will be built in Western Australia.
It also led to the creation of the two futuristic underwater systems described above: the ‘ghost shark’ and the surveillance drones.
The latter, seen in the ABC News video below, were developed in Perth and appear to be a relatively inexpensive and clever way to better monitor Australia’s vast waters during a time of greater geopolitical tension.
The latest news is that Helsing, a German company which develops “AI-enabled precision mass and autonomous systems across all domains,” will acquire Blue Ocean, the West Australian company it is working with on marine tech systems.
The takeover, announced on Wednesday (October 8), will help the defence startup greatly expand its AI-powered autonomous systems, in both hemispheres.
Helsing, which did not give a transaction value, but told Reuters it would integrate Blue Ocean’s hardware and manufacturing capabilities with its own artificial intelligence (AI) systems.
The “strategic acquisition” allows Helsing to speed up plans for the development and mass production of autonomous underwater drones to protect countries’ maritime domains, it said.
“The need for a smart autonomous mass-approach is clear, and together with Blue Ocean we can build an autonomous glider that provides a big leap forward to conduct underwater ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) for navies,” Helsing maritime general manager Amelia Gould said.
The acquisition is subject to court, regulatory and shareholder approval, according to Helsing. Approval by the authorities is expected in four months, a Helsing spokesperson said.
Helsing joins other European defence companies, currently benefiting from a surge in government funding due to the war in Ukraine, that have shown an interest in the naval sector.
However, the ‘ghost shark’ – a $1.7-billion unmanned mini-sub made in the eastern states by Anduril Australia – appears to be a far more formidable deterrent.
This device, unveiled in Sydney Harbour in September, was hailed by Defence Minister Richard Marles as “the best underwater autonomous military capability on the planet.”
The first prototype of the ‘ghost shark’ is undergoing sea trials off the coast of eastern Australia, and expected to be launched in early 2026. There is talk of dozens of these naval devices being made and possibly exported to Western allies.
- Jim Pollard with Reuters
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