No Pilot Required: The Black Hawk That Flies Itself

Lockheed Martin company Sikorsky has been commissioned by DARPA to fit its MATRIX autonomy package into the U.S. Army’s experimental fly-by-wire UH-60M Black Hawk.

The $6 million contract from America's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) will see Sikorsky install the MATRIX autonomy system at the core of agency's Aircrew Labor In-cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) in the experimental fly-by-wire aircraft, dubbed the UH-60MX.

The test platform will be used by the U.S. Army to evaluate a series of potential single-pilot and fully uncrewed mission capabilities.

In a recent company press release Rich Benton, Sikorsky vice president and general manager, commented: "Autonomy-enabled aircraft will reduce pilot workload, dramatically improve flight safety, and give battle commanders the flexibility to perform complex missions in contested and congested battlespace, day or night in all weather conditions."

He added: “Soldiers will rely on Black Hawk helicopters into the 2070s, and modernizing the aircraft today will pay dividends for decades across Army Aviation’s current and future aircraft.”

Once kitted out with MATRIX in 2025 the MX aircraft will be virtually identical to Sikorsky’s UH-60A fly-by-wire Optionally Piloted Black Hawk helicopter, the company’s flying lab that has already flown autonomously for hundreds of hours since its 202 inception.

The MX aircraft will enable the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) to explore and mature the practical mission applications of autonomy-enabled craft. Different sensor suites to perceive and avoid threats, obstacles and terrain will be tested, and standards and system specifications using both the MATRIX system and fly-by-wire flight control will be developed.

In July 2024 Sikorsky and DARPA laid on a demonstration for U.S. Department of Defence (DoD) officials how the helicopter could be flown and controlled by entering mission goals via a tablet, either from its cabin, or on the ground. In turn that event built on autonomous flights at Project Convergence 2022, where the uncrewed helicopter performed cargo resupply missions.

• You can read more details on the Lockheed Martin website