||| FROM THE INDEPENDENT |||
A state-of-the-art unmanned warship designed for fully 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 vessel 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 unmanned service vessel to the U.S. Navy.
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.
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