(ARLINGTON, Va.) – The DLBA Division of Gibbs & Cox will be supporting DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office (TTO) on its revolutionary No Manning Required, Ship (NOMARS) Program. The program will design, build and field test an unmanned surface ship that can operate autonomously for long durations at sea with no human interventions or underway maintenance.
The DLBA team was selected by DARPA to explore the trade space for clean-sheet vessel designs developed without any provision for crew on board. The intent of this effort is to create a paradigm shift in the design of marine surface vehicles as the industry transitions from manned to unmanned platforms, while leveraging newly established and developmental technologies to increase capability, increase reliability and reduce total ownership cost.
NOMARS is a two-phased program, with this first phase 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 and industry leaders to explore the many research areas of this program, including hull, mechanical and electrical systems; self-adaptive health monitoring and predictive analytics; power generation, distribution and energy storage; as well as 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 vessel design is optimized in all aspects of performance, production, and maintainability.
DLBA is a naval architecture and marine engineering firm which provides consulting services for the design and construction management of motor yachts, fiberglass recreational boats, and aluminum workboats. It specializes in high-performance marine craft design and engineering, yet supports all types of vessels and clients from high-speed race boats to commercial tugs and barges.
– Gibbs & Cox
