Extra-large unmanned subs to boost Australia’s maritime defense

Tom Abke

Australia is enhancing its naval submarine capability with the domestic development of extra-large autonomous undersea vehicles (XLAUVs).

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) plans to build the 10- to 30-meter-long uncrewed subs for missions ranging from undersea intelligence gathering to combat support. ADF is partnering on the project with Anduril Industries, a defense technologies firm headquartered in the United States.

The XLAUVs “have the potential to provide the ADF with an important, stealthy, multi-role, undersea capability, complementing and enhancing the agility and potency of the Navy’s current submarine and surface combatant force in maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region,” Australia’s Department of Defence, known as Defence, said in a news release.

The XLAUVs will offer flexibility for operations including advanced intelligence, structure inspection, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting.

The program aligns with the objectives of Remote Underwater Surveillance STaR Shot, a research initiative focused on safeguarding Australia’s maritime interests through enhanced undersea domain awareness, Defence said.

“Australia’s vast maritime expanse is critical for trade, natural resources and a wide range of activities supported by Navy,” according to an ADF strategy statement for STaR Shot. “The ADF needs advanced undersea surveillance capabilities to deal with the complexities of a congested and highly contested underwater environment, particularly to support future theatre anti-submarine warfare.”

Development of the XLAUV comes as the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is expanding its submarine fleet, projected to include six nuclear attack subs by 2030, according to the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence.

Australia is expected to develop its own nuclear submarines as part of the AUKUS trilateral security pact with the United Kingdom and the U.S.

While Australia anticipates launching its first nuclear sub in the late 2030s, the enhanced undersea capabilities promised by XLAUV should arrive sooner, with three prototypes scheduled for delivery to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) over the next three years, Anduril reported.

There is a “need to transition innovative concepts into capability more quickly,” said Australian Chief Defence Scientist Dr. Tanya Monro.

In addition to providing a central capability to the RAN, the ADF-Anduril partnership highlights how new technology can be quickly developed and simplified to keep pace with a constantly changing strategic environment, Monro said.

Part of the funding for the XLAUV project comes from Defence’s Next Generation Technologies Fund, which promotes early-stage research in emerging technologies to evaluate their potential use for defense capabilities. The fund’s priorities are integrated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

Anduril opened its Australian subsidiary in 2022 and plans to base the design, development and manufacture of the XLAUVs in Australia in partnership with other Australian defense firms.

“There is a clear need for an XLAUV built in Australia, for Australia,” said Palmer Luckey, Anduril’s founder in a company statement. “The XLAUV will harness the latest developments in autonomy, edge computing, sensor fusion, propulsion and robotics to bring advanced capability to the Royal Australian Navy.”

Tom Abke is a FORUM contributor reporting from Singapore.

IMAGE CREDIT: ANDURIL INDUSTRIES