The new unmanned warship USX-1 “The Challenger,” developed by the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, is set to undergo long-term sea trials this summer.
“The Challenger” is a medium-sized unmanned warship with a length of 54 meters and a displacement of 240 tons, falling under the U.S. Navy’s definition of medium-sized unmanned warships with a length of less than 61 meters and a displacement of less than 500 tons.
Previously, the U.S. Navy developed the “Shepherd,” “Cavalry,” and “Seaman” from the Ghost Fleet program, using commercial vessels, as well as the “Hunter” and “Falcon,” which participated in the 2022 and 2023 RIMPAC exercises.
The U.S. military has formed two squadrons of unmanned vessels and established a squadron of unmanned submarines, deploying them to the Asia-Pacific region to test their combat effectiveness.
However, the unmanned vessels tested by the U.S. military so far have been converted from manned ships or designed to allow manned control, while the “Challenger” is the first fully unmanned design. In addition, it adheres to naval standards, capable of sailing at 20 knots in sea state 3, paving the way for future large unmanned warships with a length of over 91 meters and a displacement of over 5,000 tons.
Because the hull of “The Challenger” is concealed, the outside world is still unaware of what kind of weapon systems it will carry. Containerized vertical launch systems have been test-fired on other unmanned warships, which could potentially be adopted by “The Challenger,” and BAE Systems’ Adaptive Deck Launcher is another possible option.
Regardless of the method, it utilizes the same launch tube as the MK-41 vertical launch system commonly used by the U.S. Navy.
Moreover, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency also plans to jointly develop an unmanned warship refueling system with the Navy through “The Challenger,” allowing for completely unmanned refueling operations, enabling the Navy to command multiple unmanned vessels from a manned warship much like the Air Force’s “Collaborative Combat Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle” (CCA) program, rapidly enhancing the combat power of the Ghost Fleet.
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