Lockheed Martin has won a U.S. Army contract to develop and test prototypes for unmanned convoys that would shelter soldiers from some of the dangers inherent in moving supplies through hostile territories, a mission behind numerous casualties in the Iraq War.

Military personnel will conduct demonstrations using the prototypes developed through the so-called Expedient Leader-Follower program to establish operating procedures and shape future weapons programs, Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed said in a statement. Autonomous vehicles are among an array of state-of-the-art equipment, including hypersonic missiles and directed-energy lasers, in which the U.S. faces a 21st-century arms race, according to a strategy outlined by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in January.