Australia launches maritime autonomy unit

Australia’s navy has created a dedicated unit to run robotic vessels at sea, moving uncrewed systems from trials into the force structure. (defence.gov.au) The Royal Australian Navy formally named the Maritime Autonomous Systems Unit on April 14, 2026. Defence said it was created under Project SEA 1200 to speed the development, integration and operational use of maritime autonomous systems. (defence.gov.au) The unit will operate three systems: the Ghost Shark extra-large autonomous underwater vehicle, the Bluebottle uncrewed surface vessel, and the Speartooth large uncrewed underwater vehicle. It also includes an Uncrewed Systems Control Centre and a Deployable Vehicle Team that can launch and control systems from “any wharf location anywhere in the world,” Defence said. (defence.gov.au) These craft are robotic boats and underwater vehicles that can patrol, watch, and sometimes strike without a crew on board. Defence said the new unit is optimized for persistent, long-range intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and strike missions. (defence.gov.au) Australia’s 2024 National Defence Strategy shifted the military toward an “integrated, focused force” built around a “Strategy of Denial.” The government’s strategy documents also tied future investment to longer-range, more autonomous systems across domains. (defence.gov.au) The biggest program inside the new unit is Ghost Shark, an extra-large autonomous undersea vehicle developed with Anduril Australia, the Royal Australian Navy and the Defence Science and Technology Group. In September 2025, the government said it would spend A$1.7 billion on a fleet of Ghost Sharks for the navy. (dst.defence.gov.au) Bluebottle is a smaller surface drone built by Ocius Technology for long-endurance maritime surveillance. On March 11, 2026, the Albanese government announced a A$176 million contract for 40 more Bluebottles, expanding the navy’s operational fleet to 55 vessels. (minister.defence.gov.au) Speartooth is a larger robotic underwater craft designed for modular payloads and longer missions below the surface. C2 Robotics said the vehicle had already passed demonstration and evaluation goals during the Royal Australian Navy’s Exercise Autonomous Warrior 2023. (c2robotics.com.au; navalnews.com) Commander Chris Forward, the unit’s officer in charge, said the navy was “building a workforce and culture that can harness these technologies with confidence.” The new unit gives that effort a permanent home inside the fleet, not just a test program. (defence.gov.au)