Australia has publicly revealed for the first time that payloads have been developed and integrated into three uncrewed underwater and surface vehicles — Ghost Shark, Speartooth, and BlueBottle — marking what the Albanese Government described as a major milestone in advanced undersea warfare capability. The announcement was made October 19, 2026, at Anduril’s facility in New South Wales, timed to coincide with Exercise Maritime Big Play Pacific, an AUKUS Pillar II exercise running near San Diego from October 5 to 25, 2026. As Naval News reported, some of those payloads are participating in the exercise this week.

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The modular design of the platforms allows them to carry a range of mission-specific payloads. The official media release cited examples including the remote delivery of supply caches, sea mines, and uncrewed aerial vehicles. Australian defence media attending the related press conference, according to Naval News, reported that the payloads include naval mines, supply containers, and Anduril-produced UAVs from the Altius family. Officials have previously indicated Ghost Shark will assume a wide range of missions, including intelligence, surveillance, and strike. BlueBottle, described by Naval News as a compact uncrewed surface vessel, is suited to deploying compact sensor payloads such as thin-line sonar arrays for anti-submarine warfare and seabed surveillance.

AUKUS Pillar II and a Growing Sovereign Industrial Base

The payload milestone builds on three years of testing at previous iterations of Exercise Maritime Big Play, and it complements an announcement made by AUKUS Defence Ministers in May designating the development of payloads and enabling systems for AUKUS partners’ uncrewed undersea vehicles as the first Pillar II Signature Project. Exercise Maritime Big Play Pacific is hosted by Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Pacific, U.S. Pacific Fleet, and the U.S. Marine Corps. A separate U.S. Navy statement said the event will feature live-fire operational vignettes focused on increasing mission effect and delivering force multipliers during strike operations, contested resupply, and undersea warfare.

The payload and enabling systems development is a collaboration among the Royal Australian Navy, Defence Science and Technology Group, Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator, and defence industry. Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said the government is committed to delivering practical outcomes that strengthen Australia’s defence capability and build its sovereign defence industry, and that the development of advanced payloads under AUKUS Pillar II is a critical part of work alongside the United States and the United Kingdom. Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy described Ghost Shark as a flagship Australian success story, noting that the factory — opened less than a year ago — is producing Ghost Sharks capable of complex missions operating far from Australia’s shores at an increasing rate.

Investment Scale and Strategic Scope

Through the 2026 National Defence Strategy and Integrated Investment Program, the Albanese Government is investing up to $5.8 billion over the decade for autonomous and uncrewed undersea warfare capabilities. Of that figure, $1.7 billion is allocated specifically to acquire a new fleet of Australian-designed and built Ghost Shark platforms for the Royal Australian Navy.