What would an imagined military boat look like, from the start, so as not to transport a human? This is the question that the DARPA has been trying to answer since 2016, the US army innovation agency power. She launched the program “Nomars (No Manning Required Ship) to imagine a completely autonomous ship, capable of operating over large distances, for missions of several months. A first prototype, the” Sea Hunter “, dedicated to the anti-submarine fight, was tested in 2016.
“By removing the human element from all the considerations relating to the design of the ship, the program intends to demonstrate significant advantages, in particular in terms of size, cost, reliability at sea, greater hydrodynamic efficiency, stealth and survival capacity in particular in the face of opposing actions,” explains the DARPA.
The American agency continues its work, to imagine other boats and other uses. The first copy of a new medium-sized experimental vessel, called “USX-1 DEURIE”, was delivered in February 2025, from the Nichols Brothers Boat Builders site of Whidbey Island, in the state of Washington, on the west coast of the United States. Its manufacturer is the British company Serco. It was launched in the process and has to start sea tests this summer. The American agency published a video on the occasion of the launch of this test campaign, by delivering very little details on the characteristics of the ship.
The Defiant USX, capable of carrying out recognition or escort missions, would be much lighter and compact than a traditional machine that should transport a hundred crew members and their survival equipment. The DARPA evokes a light ship of 180 feet (55 meters) and 240 tonnes, against several thousand tonnes for a conventional frigate. It would be possible to produce in series this type of autonomous ship for costs much lower than a traditional equivalent.
The Defiant USX should be able to be supplied independently, with reduced human intervention. In December 2024, the DARPA led a test with two experimental devices of the US navy maritime systems program, to store and marinate them. A test that will be replicated in real conditions, in the open sea, during the test campaign of the Defiant USX.
