NOMARS
NOMARS (No Manning Required, Ship) is a concept for a range of ships and smaller watercraft operating as unmanned surface vessels (USV) for the US Department of Defense, developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).[1]
The USV concept crafts range in size and form. Examples include:
- Sea Hunter, a DARPA-developed trimaran USV launched in 2016.
- A dual hulled platform, proposed in a concept by Austal USA.[2]
- A single hulled missile ship with a propulsor and steering pod.[3]
By removing the human element from all ship design considerations, NOMARS will demonstrate significant advantages, to include size, cost (procurement, operations, and sustainment), at-sea reliability, survivability to sea-state, survivability to adversary actions (stealth considerations, resistance to tampering, etc.), and hydrodynamic efficiency (hull optimization without consideration for crew safety or comfort).[4]
In 2022, ship designer Serco was selected to develop the NOMARS program through building, testing, and demonstrating the first generation ship.[5]
In December 2024, NOMARS completed a successful first test of at-sea refueling designed for use with the USV Defiant.[6][7]
USX-1 Defiant, the 180-foot-long, 240-metric ton medium USV, was first seen in public in March 2025 near the U.S. Navy's Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island.[8] USX-1 Defiant does not have any mission or combat systems installed onboard and will conduct sea trials in the spring of 2025.[9]
References
- ^ "No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS)". www.darpa.mil. Retrieved 2025-03-08.
- ^ DARPA’s latest mad science experiment: A ship designed to operate completely without humans, David B. Larter, DefenseNews.com, 2020-01-21
- ^ Here’s the DARPA project it says could pull the Navy a decade forward in unmanned technology, David B. Larter, C4ISRNet.com, 2020-05-07
- ^ Larter, David (2020-01-21). "DARPA's latest mad science experiment: A ship designed to operate completely without humans". Defense News. Retrieved 2025-03-15.
- ^ "No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) Program to Build, Test, Demonstrate First Ship". DARPA. 22 August 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
- ^ Jamison, Miles (2024-12-23). "DARPA Tests USV Autonomous Refueling Capability". executivegov.com. Retrieved 2025-03-08.
- ^ "Automated fueling-at-sea test completed for unmanned surface vehicle program | DARPA". drupal.darpa.mil. Retrieved 2025-03-08.
- ^ Joseph Trevithick (4 March 2025). "Mysterious Naval Vessel Spotted In Washington State Is A New DARPA Drone Ship". The War Zone. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
- ^ Katz, Justin (2025-03-05). "No sailors in sight: DARPA launches warship designed 'from the ground up' to be truly unmanned". Breaking Defense. Retrieved 2025-03-08.