A prototype military vessel that doesn’t have a crew has recently been unveiled on Whidbey Island.

The USX-1 Defiant was built in 14 months in Freeland by Nichols Brothers Boat Builders and Serco, a multinational defense contractor based in the United Kingdom and the prime contractor and designer of the vessel. It was first launched last month and can be currently seen in the South Whidbey Harbor area in Langley

According to Nichols Brothers CEO Gavin Higgins, the Defiant was the first of its kind to be built at the shipyard and the largest unmanned ship ever built in the U.S.

“We enjoyed building it,” he said in an interview. “We look forward to building more of them.”

The Defiant will be used to demonstrate the capabilities of an autonomous ship compared to a partially unmanned one.

Nichols Brothers announced in October 2023 that it was awarded a contract to construct the uncrewed autonomous vessel for the No Manning Required Ship program, also known as NOMARS, a project launched in 2020 by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, according to DARPA’s website.

The program aims to revolutionize naval operations by designing a ship that can operate autonomously for extended periods at sea without an onboard crew, according to a press release.

“NOMARS plans to demonstrate a next-generation completely unmanned ship that will enable entirely new concepts of operations,” said Gregory Avicola, program manager in DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office. “We will enable methods of deploying and maintaining very large fleets of unmanned surface vessels that can serve as partners, across the globe, for the larger crewed combatants of the U.S. Navy.”

According to Naval News, NOMARS and Defiant were developed amid growing concerns over a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, with U.S. policymakers and armed forces calling for the creation of unmanned surface vehicles that are cost-effective.

If the prototype is a success, NOMARS will create a fleet of these vessels, DARPA wrote.

The ship, which is 180 feet long and weighs 240 metric tons, is designed to operate autonomously at sea for long periods of time, DARPA wrote.

After being completed in February, it will begin two months of trials and testing on the dock and at sea this spring before starting an “extensive demonstration of the vessel and its capabilities,” Serco Marine Engineer Manager Ryan Maatta said in an interview with Naval News.

According to Maatta, who oversees the NOMARS project, the vessel has a 90% reliability at sea for a year and autonomous refueling capability.

Maatta told Naval News that unmanned systems have historically kept sailors safe, but are usually more expensive than manned systems. This technology, he said, would reduce costs, while the absence of berths, galleys, passageways and other facilities for humans will allow more space for mission-critical equipment.

Other advantages the vessel should demonstrate include reliability and survivability at sea, greater hydrodynamic efficiency and better stealth and resilience to enemy actions, according to DARPA.