A factory in Sydney will help give the Australian navy an underwater edge as it prepares to build dozens of autonomous submarine drones.
Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy joined Chief of Navy Mark Hammond for the launch of US defence company Anduril's factory, where they will make the underwater drones also known as Ghost Sharks.
The Albanese government announced in September it will acquire an unspecified number of the undersea drones at a cost of $1.7 billion from Anduril.
The unmanned craft are capable of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and are described as bolstering the navy's capability.
Mr Conroy said the factory was a "shining example" of what could be achieved when decision-making and procurement processes were right.
"Ghost Shark is an exemplar of how the government and Defence is partnering with innovative companies to rapidly deliver capability to the warfighter," he said.
"Ghost Shark is a sovereign, extra-large autonomous underwater vehicle that will give Australia a real edge in the underwater battlespace."
The defence industry minister said everything had been delivered on time, on budget and ahead of schedule.
The first of the undersea drones has rolled off the production line and is ready for in-water testing ahead of the planned delivery date to the navy in January.
Anduril Australia chief executive David Goodrich said the firm was "very keen to contribute further to the Australian industrial ecosystem".
"An autonomous undersea capability is a capability that can do the dirty and the dangerous activities where we don't want to put our sailors in harm's way," he said.
Vice Admiral Mark Hammond said the navy would "play to the strengths" of both crewed and uncrewed systems to maximise opportunities through teaming in the future.
Mr Conroy said the Australian-designed Ghost Shark could be launched from both vessels and wharves.
"That's a really important thing to emphasise on this capability, is that any shipping container near the water in Australia could have a Ghost Shark in it, and that's the important deterrence factor," he said.
The government has already poured $1 billion into the development of the combat aircraft Ghost Bat, adding to the nation's drone stockpile.
