Black Hawk helicopter flies without pilots for the first time

United States’ research and development agency, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) program has completed its first ever uninhabited flight.

According to a statement from DARPA, a UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter has completed 30-minutes of uninhabited flight with the optionally piloted vehicle (OPV) over the United States of America’s (USA) Army installation at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Lockheed Martin also shared a video on YouTube showing the autonomous Black Hawk helicopter begin executing a 30-minute mission.  

“With reduced workloads, pilots can focus on mission management instead of the mechanics,” said Stuart Young, program manager in DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office in a statement.

The Black Hawk helicopter, manufactured by Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky Aircraft company, has Sikorsky MATRIX autonomy technologies that form the core of ALIAS.

“This unique combination of autonomy software and hardware will make flying both smarter and safer,” Young added.

ALIAS technology is aimed to support the execution of an entire mission autonomously - from takeoff to landing, including handling contingency events such as aircraft system failures, claims DARPA.

The Black helicopter, identifiable by DARPA’s logo and tail number N60-OPV, made its first flight on February 5, 2022. An additional uninhabited flight was also conducted on February 7.

DARPA’s ALIAS program also plans to conduct the first flight of a fly-by-wire M-model Black Hawk within the next month at Fort Eustis, Virginia.