L3Harris Technologies was tasked by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to present a design concept for an autonomous surface ship under the first phase of a DARPA program that seeks to enable lengthy operation of unmanned ships at sea.

The company’s design under DARPA’s two-phase No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) program is meant to help demonstrate how well autonomous vessels can perform for long operational periods, L3Harris said Tuesday.

The company will work with naval engineering company VARD Marine. The two will design hull, electrical, and mechanical systems to verify the NOMARS concept.

L3Harris included an independent decision-making operating system in the NOMARS design, which is meant to function without direct human intervention.

The company has delivered more than 125 unmanned surface vehicles to the U.S. Navy, foreign military forces, companies, and academic institutions.,