Autonomous ship completes construction, DARPA reports
NewsMarch 04, 2025
ARLINGTON, Va. The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) program completed construction on a prototype of a ship designed to operate autonomously for long durations at sea.
DARPA reported that construction of the prototype unmanned surface vessel (USV) USX-1 Defiant was completed during February 2025. Defiant is a 180-foot, 240-metric-ton lightship that will undergo extensive in-water testing, both docked and at sea. The craft is scheduled to depart for a multi-month at sea demonstration in spring 2025, according to the DARPA schedule.
DARPA information describes the NOMARS program as that which aims to challenge the traditional naval architecture model, designing a seaframe (the ship without mission systems) from the ground up with no provision, allowance, or expectation for humans on board. By removing the human element from all ship-design considerations, DARPA said, the program intends to demonstrate significant advantages including size, cost, at-sea reliability, greater hydrodynamic efficiency, survivability to sea-state, and survivability to adversary actions through stealth considerations and tampering resistance.
