The “ghost shark” will enter service for the Royal Australian Navy at the start of next year after the Department of Defence signed a contract with manufacturer Anduril Australia to deliver, maintain and continue developing the unmanned submarines over the next half-decade.

Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles announced the deal this morning, saying the new fleet will deliver Australia “world-leading”, long-range stealth capabilities.

“There is a lot of advancement in technology about making submarines harder to detect,” he said.

“We are really confident about the program that we are on in terms of giving Australia a highly capable, long-range submarine capability in the future.”

The drones will conduct intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and strike operations once they enter service.

However, the government is staying tight-lipped about the exact number of ghost sharks it will acquire under the deal – other than saying it will be dozens – as well as their specific capabilities, range and how they will be used.

“This is a high capability platform, but what defines it is stealth,” Marles said.

“And, as a result, what you will find from me and others in the future giving press conferences like this, is we will be very coy indeed in describing what these will do.”

The $1.7 billion deal will create about 750 new jobs in Australia, according to the government, as well as supporting a further 120 jobs.

The government had previously invested around $140 million into Anduril for the development of the ghost shark since 2022.

It also comes as Australia is seeking to entrench itself as the dominant security partner for Pacific nations, even as China seeks to gain more influence in the region.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said he remains confident of the deal being signed despite the delay.

Three years ago, China signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands, raising concerns that the People’s Liberation Army Navy could get a foothold in the South Pacific, in one of Australia’s closest neighbours.

Asked about whether it was inevitable that Beijing would get a security presence in the region, Marles said the Pacific was becoming more contested but that Australia remained in a good place to respond to challenges in the area.

“I’m really confident that we have been able to make progress in that and that we are the first partner of choice in terms of security for the nations of the Pacific,” he said.