00:00This is a $1.7 billion contract that the government signed with the Australian arm of the US defence
00:07company Anduril to build these autonomous submarines in Australia.
00:12The defence minister says that the first of these units could be deployed as early as
00:16January next year.
00:18The contract will also involve their continued maintenance and development in Australia.
00:25And the government says these vehicles, these ghost sharks, could be used for things like
00:29intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and even strike missions.
00:35And these will be able to do that undetected and at long distances.
00:39The government says that this will mean an additional 150 jobs with Anduril in Australia.
00:45Now this comes in the context of the US President Donald Trump applying increasing pressure on
00:50Australia to increase its defence spending and also as the US reviews the AUKUS deal which
00:56would see nuclear power submarines delivered for a cost of $370 billion.
01:02The defence minister Richard Miles says that the ghost shark investment is not to hedge against
01:09that deal falling over or to replace it but to work in conjunction with it.
01:15Ghost shark complements it.
01:16Ghost shark operates in conjunction with it.
01:19That's the point that I made up front.
01:21And it also works in conjunction with our surface fleet.
01:24And what is clear is that going forward nations will need to have an autonomous underwater military
01:30capability and that's what ghost shark represents.
01:33But we will also need very much a long range capable submarine in the future and I'm really
01:40confident that that's what we are developing under the banner of AUKUS by providing Australia
01:44with that capability.
01:46Now the defence minister also said that we are seeing an increasingly contested Pacific region
01:52and that's why the government is working through both diplomatic channels but also military channels
01:57to ensure that Australia is the strategic partner of choice in the Pacific.
02:00So, next time will you read us as well.
02:03We look at the
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