DARPA: American Architect of Fear and Innovation
On August 11, 2025, DARPA officially unveiled the USX-1 Defiant, a 55-meter unmanned surface vessel built under its No Manning Required Ship program. Earlier that summer, the agency had quietly released the first at-sea footage: a long, sensor-covered hull cutting through Puget Sound with no crew on deck and no visible bridge. Within hours, headlines and online discussions multiplied, speculating about autonomous weapons, secret tests, and the future of naval warfare. The Pentagon described the project as a demonstrator for long-endurance missions and eventual Navy integration...