Guardsman flies remote-control Black Hawk chopper using tablet

By Dean Murray

A regular military member has flown a remote-control Black Hawk helicopter after less than an hour's training.

A U.S. Army National Guard Sergeant First Class became the first to independently plan, command and execute one of the OPV's (Optionally Piloted Vehicle) missions using the system’s handheld tablet.

He directed the payload to a location 70 nautical miles away and commanded multiple precision airborne drops, marking the first time OPV Black Hawk operated fully under the control of a soldier, instead of a trained test pilot or engineer.

The test mission was carried out at this year's Northern Strike, the United States Department of Defense's largest annual joint military readiness exercise. A standby pilot was in the helicopter as a safety measure and to comply with aviation regulations.

Rich Benton, vice president and general manager of Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, said: “With lives on the line, Sikorsky’s MATRIX flight autonomy system can transform how military operators perform their missions.

"An optionally piloted Black Hawk aircraft can reduce pilot workload in a challenging environment or complete a resupply mission without humans on board. In contested logistics situations, a Black Hawk operating as a large drone offers commanders greater resilience and flexibility to get resources to the point of need.”

The MATRIX technology, which supports DARPA’s Aircrew Labor In-cockpit Automation System (ALIAS), gives operators control of advanced aviation, a capability once reserved for trained pilots, enabling resupply, personnel recovery and contested logistics missions in dangerous or low-visibility areas without putting human life at risk.