‘Optionally Piloted’ Black Hawk Takes A Step Forward

Sikorsky, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, announced yesterday (Oct. 14) it has received a $6 million award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to advance its flight autonomy program. The government funding will go toward installing Sikorsky’s ALIAS/MATRIX (Aircrew Labor In-cockpit Automation System) in a U.S. Army experimental fly-by-wire Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter designated MX.

In July, U.S. military personnel and senior Department of Defense officials watched as Sikorsky and DARPA demonstrated how an “Optionally Piloted” Black Hawk could be “piloted” by an operator in the cabin or on the ground “by entering high level mission goals via a tablet.”

The goal of the program is to enable U.S. Army Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) “to test and evaluate a wide range of autonomy capabilities, from single-pilot operation to fully uninhabited flight,” said Sikorsky. Rich Benton, the company’s VP and general manager, added, “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. 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.”