Anduril Industries — Undersea Systems
Table of Contents

⚠ Disclaimer: This entry may be incomplete, out of date, or inaccurate. It is AI-maintained on a best-effort basis. Do not rely on it as a sole source — verify claims independently using the sources listed below.

See also: Anduril — Autonomous Aerial Systems and Anduril — Autonomous Surface Vessels. Company overview and Lattice OS are in the canonical Anduril file.

Undersea Portfolio Summary

Anduril’s undersea portfolio is the most ambitious in the defense startup sector, spanning three distinct capability layers: a long-range XLUUV (Ghost Shark / Dive-XL), a medium displacement AUV (Dive-LD), and an autonomous undersea munition family (Copperhead). Every platform is a Lattice OS node — the strategic intent is an undersea equivalent of the aerial autonomous swarm.

Platform Type Status
Ghost Shark XLUUV Extra-large AUV for ADF Production; first delivery November 2025
Dive-XL XLUUV for US Navy Selected by DIU/Navy, March 2026
Dive-LD Large displacement AUV Operational
Copperhead-100M Autonomous undersea munition (LWT class) Sea trials ongoing (April 2026)
Copperhead-500M Autonomous undersea munition (HWT class) Speed record testing, April 2026

Ghost Shark XLUUV

Ghost Shark is an extra-large autonomous underwater vehicle developed for the Australian Defence Force under an AUKUS-adjacent program. It is the flagship demonstration that a defense startup can develop a large AUV in three years for ~$100M (Anduril contributed ~$50M; ADF contributed the other half).

  • Contract: 1.7 billion AUD (~$1.1B USD) with ADF, announced September 2025
  • Factory: Dedicated robotic XLUUV manufacturing facility in Australia; $60M Anduril investment; first vehicle off the line in 2025; first delivery November 2025
  • Manufacturing: Uses Large Format Additive Manufacturing (LFAM) for hull sections — key to rapid production scaling
  • Architecture: Modular swappable sections with sealed pressure zones for propulsion, navigation, and payloads within a largely flooded hull volume
  • Software: Lattice OS for autonomous navigation, mission decision-making, and multi-asset teaming

Dive-XL — US Navy XLUUV

In March 2026, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and US Navy selected Anduril’s Dive-XL for the XLUUV program — the US equivalent of the Ghost Shark mission. The Dive-XL is designed for 1,000+ nautical mile autonomous undersea missions, enabling operations deep in contested Pacific maritime zones without a nearby mothership.

  • Selected: March 2026 via DIU OTA contract
  • Range: 1,000+ nautical miles
  • Mission: Long-range ISR, undersea warfare, seabed mapping, forward sensor seeding
  • Payload: Can carry “dozens” of Copperhead-100M or “multiple” Copperhead-500M — making it an autonomous undersea mothership for distributed undersea effects
  • Competition: Boeing Orca (original XLUUV awardee) has faced significant production delays, creating the opening for Anduril

Dive-LD

The Dive-LD is the foundational large-displacement AUV on which Ghost Shark was based. Operational with US and allied customers.

  • Length: 5.8 meters
  • Depth rating: 6,000 meters
  • Endurance: 10+ days
  • Payloads: Modular; ISR, mine countermeasures, undersea survey
  • Power: Electrically powered

Copperhead — Autonomous Undersea Munitions

Copperhead is a family of reusable autonomous underwater munitions that challenge the economics of legacy torpedo programs. Unlike a torpedo, Copperhead is designed to be recovered and reused when it doesn’t expend itself on a target.

Copperhead-100M

  • Diameter: ~12.75 inches (comparable to Mk 54 lightweight torpedo diameter)
  • Class: Lightweight torpedo equivalent
  • Speed: 30+ knots
  • Characteristics: Recoverable/reusable; autonomous terminal guidance

Copperhead-500M

  • Diameter: ~21 inches (comparable to Mk 48 heavyweight torpedo diameter)
  • Class: Heavyweight torpedo equivalent
  • Speed: Broke internal speed records during April 2026 sea trials; high-agility maneuvers demonstrated in high seas
  • Characteristics: Recoverable/reusable; significantly cheaper than Mk 48 to manufacture

Operational Concept

The Copperhead + Dive-XL combination creates an autonomous undersea mothership concept: a Dive-XL infiltrates a contested area autonomously, loiters, seeds seabed sensors, relays data back via Lattice, and then launches distributed Copperhead effectors instead of expending one legacy torpedo per target. Multiple Copperhead-100Ms per Dive-XL means many engagements per sortie.

Notable Developments

  • 2026-04: Copperhead-500M sea trials; speed records broken; high seas high-agility testing
  • 2026-03: Dive-XL selected by DIU/US Navy for XLUUV program
  • 2025-11: First Ghost Shark XLUUV delivered to Australian Navy
  • 2025-09: Ghost Shark enters Program of Record; 1.7B AUD ADF contract announced
  • 2025-04: Copperhead unveiled publicly
  • 2025: Ghost Shark factory opens; LFAM production begins
  • ~2022–2023: Ghost Shark R&D (~$100M total; ADF + Anduril co-funded)

Sources

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