Page 26 - Australian Defence Magazine June 2022

26 DEFENCE BUSINESS INDO PACIFIC
JUNE 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
ANDURIL, NAVY & DST TEAM FOR XL-AUV PROGRAM
ALONG with littoral manoeuvre vessels, one of the major maritime topics at Indo Pacific was the development of large au- tonomous underwater vehicles.
Just prior to the show, Anduril Indus- tries announced it was entering commer- cial negotiations with the ADF around a co-funded design, development and man- ufacturing program to produce an extra- large AUV (XL-AUV) for Navy.
The US$100 million program is aimed at producing three prototype AUVs over the next three years in partnership with Navy and DST Group. The 30-35 metre XL-AUV concept will leverage Anduril’s successful Dive LD program.
The project is one of three underway aimed at developing an Australian UUV capability. The other two partnerships comprise the Trusted Autonomous Sys- tems - Defence Cooperative Research Centre (TAS-DCTC), together with Cana- da’s Cellula Robotic with its 12-metre Sea-
wolf UUV; and Melbourne-based SME C2 Robotics with its Speartooth UUV.
Executive Chairman and CEO of An- duril Australia David Goodrich told ADM that the three-year contract will include a plan to transition to a full rate production contract, subject to government approval. Goodrich said Anduril Australia will ini- tially establish a facility in the Sydney region for development and prototyping activities and would also establish a larger production facility in the same area should a production contract follow. Goodrich said the plans will give Anduril Australia the largest footprint outside the US.
Various configurations are planned for the XL-AUV, to cater for solo or teamed missions and support current & future manned undersea capabilities. The range of missions includes sea bed mapping, mine countermeasures, ISR and a range of classified missions.
“DST Group has range of mature pay-
load concepts,” Goodrich said. “Some payloads will be Anduril’s, some will be DST’s and some will come from other [un- named] partners. We’re also looking for SMEs to build a sovereign supply chain.”
The initial configuration will be ITAR- free, but future payload configurations may change this. Nevertheless, Goodrich said he is looking to attract export orders from the Asia-Pacific region and revealed the company is in discussions with a num- ber of governments.
Outside the maritime domain, Anduril is also engaged with Army’s 2 Commando in trials of its VTOL Ghost expeditionary UAV and both concepts are expected to be displayed during the Autonomous Warrior 2022 exercise in Jervis Bay.
ABOVE: An artitst’s impression of the
Anduril XL-AUV being developed in partnership with DST Group and Navy
ANDURIL AUSTRALIA