The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has confirmed that the USX-1 Defiant uncrewed surface vessel (USV) prototype is ready to undergo sea trials.
The testing follows the completion of construction of the 180ft, 240 tonne (t) lightship in February 2025, marking a milestone in DARPA’s No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) programme.
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Defiant USV is built for fully autonomous operation.
During the trials, the vessel will be put through comprehensive testing both dockside and at sea, with a multi-month at-sea demonstration planned for spring 2025.
The NOMARS programme seeks to revolutionise naval architecture by designing a seaframe from scratch, without any provision, allowance and human presence onboard.
This initiative is expected to lead to numerous benefits, including reduced size and cost, improved at-sea reliability, enhanced hydrodynamic efficiency, and increased survivability in various sea states and against adversary actions.
The agency notes that the potential for scaled production of the NOMARS platform suggests an efficient and cost-effective way to deploy a distributed fleet of USVs.
The Defiant is specifically designed to lower the Navy’s cost per mission hour through decreased platform size, reduced maintenance expenses, and extended mission duration capabilities.
DARPA announced in August 2022 that the NOMARS programme had entered its second phase.
Serco successfully concluded the preliminary design phase of DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office’s NOMARS programme and was chosen to proceed to Phase II.
This phase included the detailed design, construction, and testing of the vessel.
Furthermore, 2024 saw the successful completion of an initial at-sea refuelling test for the Defiant USV.
The US Navy’s Uncrewed Maritime Systems Program Office (PMS-406) and USV Squadron 1 (USVRON-1) conducted the test with two experimental USVs, Ranger and Mariner.
