Australia will spend 1.7 billion Australian dollars ($1.1 billion) on building dozens of locally developed underwater attack drones, Defense Minister Richard Marles said on Wednesday.

Axar.az reports, citing AP, the first of the stealthy, long-range Ghost Sharks will be delivered to the Australian navy in January next year under a five-year contract with Sydney-based Anduril Australia, Marles said.

“Australia is leading the world in terms of autonomous, underwater military capabilities,” Marles told reporters in Sydney.

The large, autonomous underwater vehicles would significantly boost Australia’s undersea warfare capabilities, complementing a fleet of submarines powered with U.S. nuclear technology , Marles said.

The first of those submarines provided under the AUKUS partnership with the United States and Britain won’t be delivered to Australia until 2032.

Marles would not say precisely how many Ghost Sharks would be built. But he said the Australian navy would be provided with “dozens” over the next five years.

He also wouldn’t comment on the Ghost Sharks’ range other than to describe it as “very long range.”