Autonomous shipbuilder introduces vessel at WEST 2026
NewsFebruary 11, 2026
WEST 2026 CONFERENCE & EXPOSITION -- SAN DIEGO. Autonomous shipbuilder Blue Water Autonomy (Boston, Massachusetts) introduced its first vessel, the Liberty class of autonomous ships, at this week's AFCEA/USNI WEST 2026 Conference and Exposition.
The Liberty class of vessels is a 190-foot steel autonomous ship with a range of over 10,000 nautical miles and having more than 150 metric tons of payload capacity. Liberty is designed, say Blue Water officials, to support a range of missions, including missile, sensor, and logistics payloads; it also is meant to offer the U.S. Navy a ship that is immediately producible with existing U.S. shipyards and commercial supply chains.
Blue Water will build the ships in conjunction with partner Damen Shipyards Group: The Liberty class will be built on Damen's Stan Patrol 6009 hull design, which Blue Water selected due to its distinctive "axe bow" vertical design that cuts cleanly through the waves, minimizing slamming and enabling more gradual wave re-entry. Using a proven design reduces technical risk, according to the company announcement, which then enables Blue Water to focus engineering on re-architecting the vessel's internal systems for autonomous operation. The resulting platform retains the hull's performance, payload capacity, and seakeeping characteristics, while supporting months-long deployment and serial production.
Construction is set to begin at Conrad Shipyard in March 2026, with the first vessel expected to be completed for the U.S. Navy later in 2026.
