Boston-based defense-tech startup Blue Water Autonomy has begun construction of the first Liberty-class autonomous warship at Conrad Shipyard in Louisiana, the company confirmed. The 190-foot steel vessel is being built under a U.S. Navy program of record and is on track for delivery before the end of 2026 – less than two years after the company was founded.
A 190-foot autonomous patrol platform
Liberty has a range of more than 10,000 nautical miles and a payload capacity exceeding 150 metric tons – enough to host containerised mission modules, sensors and effectors. It is built on Damen Shipyards'' Stan Patrol 6009 hull, leveraging the Dutch builder''s Axe Bow design, which uses a vertical bow to slice through waves and reduce hull slamming. More than 300 Axe Bow vessels are already in commercial and naval service.
Privately funded, rapidly built
Blue Water has financed the program privately, taking advantage of the Navy''s Golden Fleet acquisition framework that pays fixed prices for vessels that pass on-water testing. Following first delivery, Blue Water intends to scale into serial production of 10 to 20 vessels per year, in direct competition with Saronic''s Marauder and HII''s Romulus platforms.
The Navy's autonomous push
The Liberty program fits inside the broader Golden Fleet Initiative, which aims to field dozens of medium and large unmanned surface vessels by 2031. Seven MUSV prototype contracts are already in flight, and Saildrone''s Spectre is being tested for anti-submarine warfare with Lockheed Martin.
Outlook
If Liberty performs in sea trials, Blue Water expects follow-on Navy orders to start arriving in fiscal 2027. The company is also fielding interest from European NATO members evaluating autonomous solutions to address shipbuilding bottlenecks.
Reporting based on coverage from Naval News, Military.com, gCaptain and PR Newswire.