DARPA Christens ‘Defiant’ — First Fully Autonomous Naval Ship Built With No Crew Space

DARPA has christened USX-1 Defiant, the first surface vessel built with no space for crew.

The Aug. 11 ceremony at Everett Ship Repair in Everett, Washington, unveiled the demonstrator for the No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) program.

The 180-foot, 240-metric-ton vessel has a simplified hull for rapid production and maintenance at facilities that typically serve yachts, tugs, and workboats. Final systems tests are underway before extended open-ocean trials to assess reliability and endurance.

“Defiant is a tough little ship and defies the idea that we cannot make a ship that can operate in the challenging environment of the open ocean without people to operate her,” said NOMARS Program Manager Greg Avicola. He said it can operate in sea state 5 without performance loss, survive harsher seas, and resume missions once storms pass.

The NOMARS program seeks to move beyond “optionally manned” vessels, proving that fully unmanned ships can be reliable, maintainable, and cost-effective.

“Defiant class vessels provide cost-effective, survivable, manufacturable, maintainable, long-range, autonomous, and distributed platforms,” said DARPA Director Stephen Winchell. “They will protect and expand the capabilities of manned ships, multiply combat power at low cost, and unlock new American maritime industrial capacity.”

After sea trials, Defiant will transfer to the U.S. Navy’s Unmanned Maritime Systems Program Office (PMS 406). DARPA and the Navy are planning a pathway for rapid integration of NOMARS technologies into future fleets, including allied naval operations.

Congress allocated $2.1 billion in July for developing, procuring, and integrating medium unmanned surface vessels. Defiant will become the Navy’s first fully autonomous — not hybrid — medium unmanned surface vessel.