Image: Anduril
The Defense Innovation Unit and the U.S. Navy have chosen Anduril Industries to develop and deliver extra-large autonomous underwater vehicles, addressing a critical gap in long-range undersea warfare capability.
The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and the U.S. Navy have selected Anduril Industries to participate in the Combat Autonomous Maritime Platform (CAMP) project — a Department of Defense initiative to rapidly prototype and field extra-large autonomous underwater vehicles (XL-AUVs). The selection, made through DIU’s competitive Commercial Solutions Opening process, positions Anduril’s Dive-XL platform as the U.S. military’s chosen answer to growing demands for persistent, long-range undersea operations.
A Proven Platform
Anduril earned the contract on the strength of demonstrated performance. The company completed the longest XL-AUV demonstration on record, validating extended-range endurance under operationally relevant conditions. Across its autonomous undersea vehicle fleet, Anduril has logged over 42,355 kilometres and 6,752 mission hours — figures that establish the maturity and reliability the Navy requires for distributed maritime operations.
Under the CAMP contract, Anduril must complete a long-duration, operationally representative demonstration of the Dive-XL within four months of award. The company currently operates multiple Dive-XL vehicles in the United States.
Industrial Capacity to Deliver
Anduril’s selection builds on a track record that spans two allied nations. In 2025, the company secured a program of record with the Royal Australian Navy for its Ghost Shark extra-large autonomous undersea vehicle — delivering both the vehicle and a dedicated production facility at a pace that conventional defence programs could not match. That contract demonstrated Anduril’s ability to reduce programme risk and compress delivery timelines.
Today, Anduril produces Dive-XL vehicles in Sydney, Australia. It also operates a purpose-built manufacturing facility at Quonset Point, Rhode Island, designed to deliver dozens of Dive-XLs and hundreds of Dive-LD vehicles annually. That dual-nation industrial base gives the U.S. Navy confidence in sustained supply at scale.
Strategic Implications
For the Navy, CAMP represents more than a procurement milestone. The programme enables meaningful experimentation with XL-AUVs at scale and establishes a deliberate pathway toward wide-scale operational deployment — something the service has long sought as undersea competition with near-peer adversaries intensifies.
Long-range autonomous undersea systems carry the potential to shift the balance of power beneath the waves. They allow the United States and its allies to extend operational reach, hold threats at distance, and maintain a persistent presence in contested maritime environments. According to Anduril, control of the undersea domain underpins control of the sea itself — and Dive-XL marks the shift from concept to fielded reality.
The selection of a commercially developed, already-producing platform reflects a broader shift in U.S. defence procurement: moving away from lengthy traditional acquisition cycles and toward faster, iterative fielding of proven technologies. With adversaries rapidly expanding their own undersea capabilities, the pace of that shift may prove as consequential as the platform itself.
Source: Anduril Press Release