Gibbs & Cox’s DLBA naval architecture and marine engineering division has been selected to support DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office (TTO) in researching designs and technologies for the No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) Program. This program aims to design, build, and field test an unmanned surface vessel (USV) that can operate autonomously for long durations at sea while requiring no human intervention or at-sea maintenance.
DARPA hopes to create a paradigm shift in the design of marine surface vehicles that will support the transition from manned to unmanned platforms, while leveraging newly established and developmental technologies to increase capability, increase reliability, and reduce total ownership cost.
The first of the program’s two phases is centered on trade space exploration, development of a clean-sheet concept design, and maturation of concept into a preliminary design. DLBA has assembled a team of subject matter experts to explore aspects of the complete solution such as hull, mechanical and electrical systems; self-adaptive health monitoring and predictive analytics; power generation, distribution, and energy storage; and advanced depot based maintenance concepts.
DLBA will assess the interdependencies of the technical domains and evaluate each domain against overarching variables of cost, endurance, reliability, and manufacturability to ensure that the final USV design is optimized in all aspects of performance, production, and maintainability.
