As reported on TaskandPurpose.com, DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) is currently developing a new type of unmanned ship for the Navy.
Working separately, but in collaboration with the Navy’s $1 billion NOMARS (No Manning Required, Ship) project, the goal is to develop a fleet of autonomous surface vessels to keep pace with Russia and China.
Part of DARPA’s project is the introduction of advanced technologies that would require a radical re-design, which some feel resembles the infamous Star Destroyer from the Star Wars universe.
Pentagon budgets support as many as 20 unmanned surface vessels by 2021.
These large unmanned surface vessels (LUSVs) are envisioned as being between 200- and 300-feet long and offering a load displacement of up to 2,000 tons.
The LUSVs would provide carrying capacity for various modular payloads, including anti-ship and land-attack missiles.
