Indo-Pacific 2022: Rise of the maritime machines in Australia
The Royal Australian Navy is funding development of the low-cost Speartooth LUUV for the country’s navy. (Photo: Gordon Arthur)
This year’s edition of the Indo-Pacific naval exhibition in Sydney demonstrated intense interest in and solutions for crewless ocean surveillance, whether on the surface or deep beneath the waves.
On 4 May, even before the exhibition opened, Anduril Industries had announced a $100 million co-funded programme with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) for three prototypes of an extra-large autonomous undersea vehicle (XLAUV).
Shephard can now confirm that this project does not fall under the auspices of AUKUS. Indeed, the AUKUS Undersea Robotics Autonomous Systems (AURAS) programme is a trilateral effort between Australia, the UK and US on classified underwater
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