Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton has announced a $2 billion (US$1.44 billion) investment into developing cutting-edge unmanned submarine technology amid ongoing tensions in the South Pacific region. At the same time, the minister pledged another $2 billion to purchasing state-of-the-art missile technology to protect naval vessels against anti-ship weapons.
For the undersea drones, Australia’s Department of Defence will partner with Anduril Australia to design and manufacture three Extra Large Autonomous Undersea Vehicles (XL-AUV). The vessels are operated remotely, range between 10 to 30 metres in length, and can carry weapons over long distances.
Such technology has been tested by the United States (Orca XLUUV) and United Kingdom (Manta XLUUV) and have been tested with tasks such as carrying out underwater patrols along pre-programmed routes, electronic spying, and anti-submarine warfare.
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