Sikorsky will develop an optionally piloted variant to its legendary Black Hawk helicopter by converting a retired UH-60A BLACK HAWK hel...
Sikorsky will develop an optionally piloted variant to its legendary Black Hawk helicopter by converting a retired UH-60A BLACK HAWK helicopter.
The autonomous Black Hawk will feature Sikorsky's Matrix Technology and benefit from its Manned/Unmanned Resupply Aerial Lifter(MURAL) autonomy program.
The modified helo will fly a fully autonomous cargo mission, from take-off through picking up a load and flying a route, to returning for the next pickup.
The autonomous Black Hawk will offer internal and external cargo flexibility, capability to lift up to 9,000 pounds, and high cruise speeds. The design is targeting a system loss rate of one per 100,000 flight hours, against the current rate of one per 1000 flight hours.
“The autonomous BLACK HAWK will provide affordable, reliable, high-speed resupply to the warfighter in the harshest conditions at a cost per ton mile that competes with ground convoys,” said Mark Miller, vice president of Research & Engineering.
Sikorsky has been designing the prototype for more than a year, with completion scheduled this month.
The autonomous technology will be matured onboard the Sikorsky Autonomy Research Aircraft (SARA), based on Sikorsky S-76® commercial helicopter.
Sikorsky's Matrix Technology aims to give both rotary and fixed wing Vertical Take off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft a high level of system intelligence needed to complete complex missions with minimal human oversight, and at low altitudes where obstacles abound.
In collaboration with the U.S. Army, Sikorsky successfully demonstrated the ability of a UH-60M Upgrade Optionally Piloted BLACK HAWK helicopter to conduct autonomous flight and autonomous cargo resupply demonstrations through its MURAL Program recently.
Sikorsky is working with Kutta Technologies, Inc, Think-A-Move, Ltd, and Advanced Optical Systems, Inc in development of the OPBH.
