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Australia enters drone warfare era with Ghost Bat and Ghost Shark
Australia has announced a significant increase in defence spending on drone and counter-drone technologies, totaling $12-15 billion over the next decade, according to Defence Minister Richard Marles. The investment, which includes flagship projects like the Ghost Bat and Ghost Shark, is a direct response to the evolving role of drones in recent conflicts.
Australia is significantly increasing its investment in drone and counter-drone technologies, with Defence Minister Richard Marles announcing a spending package of $12–15 billion over the next decade. The announcement, made ahead of the release of the Defence Department's new Integrated Investment Program and the 2026 National Defence Strategy, reflects lessons drawn from conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, where drones have proven capable of generating what Minister Marles called "significant asymmetric advantage against larger, more expensive platforms."
Coverage Comparison
Reporting on the announcement was led by ABC Australia, the country's public broadcaster. Two separate ABC reports focused on distinct aspects of the story: one highlighted the overall investment increase and its strategic rationale, while the other detailed the allocation of funds and specific programs. Both reports emphasized the government's view that drone technology is now "central to how war happens," as Marles put it. The coverage also noted that this spending represents an increase of $2–5 billion over the figures outlined in the 2024 National Defence Strategy.
Key Claims
Australia will invest between $12 billion and $15 billion in drone and counter-drone technologies over the next decade, according to multiple reports from ABC Australia. The total spending on drones will be at least $12 billion, with at least $2 billion in new or redirected funds included in the new Integrated Investment Program.
Minister Marles said the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East demonstrated the ability of drones to generate asymmetric advantage against larger, more expensive platforms, as reported by both ABC articles.
The flagship projects are the MQ-28A Ghost Bat, an autonomous aircraft developed by Boeing for the Royal Australian Air Force, and the Ghost Shark, an uncrewed underwater vehicle. The Ghost Bat, which has a range of more than 3,700 kilometers, is designed to fly alongside crewed aircraft such as F-35 fighter jets, according to reports.
Approximately $2.2–3.1 billion will be dedicated to smaller drones, according to ABC reports. This includes at least $2.2 billion for the development of smaller, lower-cost options.
The German government has expressed interest in acquiring the Ghost Bat, a claim carried by a single ABC report and not yet independently verified.
Perspectives
Defence Minister Richard Marles framed the investment as essential to maintaining pace with rapidly evolving drone technology, citing lessons from recent conflicts where cheap, mass-produced drones have drained stocks of expensive interceptors, as reported by ABC. Defence analysts quoted in the coverage, such as Marcus Hellyer, head of research at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, have offered mixed assessments of whether Australia's focus on large, high-end systems like the Ghost Bat and Ghost Shark is the right approach, with some suggesting that smaller, more expendable drones may be more relevant to future conflicts. The government has not yet detailed which existing projects will be "reprioritised" to free up funds for the new drone spending.
How this outlet told it
ABC Australia
Framing: Australia's push to maintain pace with drone technology — Informative and objective
Facts Included:
Australia investing $12-15 billion in drone and counter-drone technologies
Defence Minister Richard Marles said conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East showed the ability of drones to generate significant asymmetric advantage
Ghost Bat and Ghost Shark programs are flagship drone projects
About $2.2-3.1 billion will be dedicated to smaller drones
The Ghost Bat has a range of more than 3,700 kilometres and can perform intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions
Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.
Claim
Confidence
Status
ClaimAustralia is investing $12-15 billion in drone and counter-drone technologies over the next decade.
ClaimDefence Minister Richard Marles said conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East showed the ability of drones to generate significant asymmetric advantage against larger, more expensive platforms.