Mysterious unmanned warship spotted off of Washington state coast

The Defiant may have a role in the U.S. Navy’s drone ‘hellscape’ to help defend Taiwan from Chinese aggression

A state-of-the-art unmanned warship designed for autonomous naval missions has been spotted in waters off of Washington state.

The USX-1 Defiant was being pushed by tug boat earlier this week through the Saratoga Passage in Puget Sound, just a few miles from the U.S. Navy’s Naval Air Station Whidby Island, according to The War Zone.

The 180ft, 240-ton unmanned surface vessel, a type of drone, was completed last month after a five-year development.

It has been constructed as part of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s “No Manning Required Ship” program alongside private maritime and operations company Serco – the primary contractor for the Defiant.

The ship was first launched at the Nichols Brothers Boat Builders shipyard near the unincorporated community of Freeland, just northwest of Seattle, last month in preparation for a series of trials that aim to bring a cost-effective USV to the Navy.

The Defiant is still under wraps, despite its construction being finished last month (DARPA)

The Navy primarily uses USVs for surveillance, reconnaissance, and to glean intelligence.

Its construction comes amid increased calls from American policymakers and combat commands for cost-effective USVs to help Taiwan defend against a potential Chinese invasion.

Head of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Admiral Samuel Paparo, detailed the use of the unmanned ships last summer in the Navy’s “hellscape,” which aims to flood the Taiwan Strait with drones to deter aggression from the People’s Liberation Army.

“Removing the human element from all ship design considerations” has allowed for a narrower beam which means better stealth performance, better hydrodynamic efficiency, and a better operating window in rough seas, the agency said.

It was not immediately clear whether the vessel would be controlled remotely or operate fully autonomously.

The vessel was first launched at the Nichols Brothers Boat Builders shipyard last month (DARPA)

The Defiant, however, is still – quite literally – under wraps with photos of the ship released by the agency showing it partially covered in a tarp.

DARPA serves as the central research and development arm of the Department of Defense to develop new technologies for the military.

The agency said the Defiant is set to “undergo extensive in-water testing, both dockside and at sea” and “is scheduled to depart for a multi-month at sea demonstration in spring 2025.”

Ryan Maatta, a Marine Engineer Manager with Serco overseeing the NOMARS project, told Naval News it hopes the ship is “much less expensive to do the same mission as a manned platform.”

Maatta added that the Defiant would undergo two months of sea trials before “a very large and extensive demonstration of the vessel and its capabilities.”