Australia is preparing to launch dozens of new autonomous submarines, with the first batch of Ghost Shark drones set to enter the water in January.

The $1.7 billion program, announced by Acting Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles in Sydney, will see the Royal Australian Navy armed with what he described as “the highest tech capability in the world”.

“This is the culmination of three prototypes of Ghost Shark having already been built, and it demonstrates an exquisite capability which has been designed, developed, prototyped and now being manufactured here in Australia,” Mr Marles said.

He declined to reveal how many units would be built, saying the “stealth nature” of the program meant only “dozens” would be produced in the first wave.

“This is a profoundly important cap

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