Darpa introduced the new Autonomous Warship of the USX-1 Defiant, which can work at sea up to a year without the participation of people. The water launch ceremony was held on August 11, 2025 at the Washington Everett Ship River shipyard.
The project called Nomars (“ship without a crew”) creates a medium -sized warship from scratch, without all the elements necessary for the team: there are no cabins, bridge, ventilation or warehouse premises. Thanks to this, Defiant turned out to be light, compact and “dagger -shaped”.
The length of the ship is 55 meters, the displacement is 240 tons. It can develop speeds of up to 20 knots (37 km/h), reducing it to 15 knots after a year of autonomous swimming. Defiant systems resemble the equipment of space probes: “They are reliable, have duplicate components and can independently switch to reserve, including the possibility of autonomous refueling,” media write.
The ship is designed for fast production and light service in any ports serving yachts and tugboats. In the future, such autonomous ships will be able to perform routine tasks, patrol ports and search for underwater objects.
After the completion of sea tests, Defiant will be transferred to the control of unmanned marine systems of the US Navy.
