The U.S. Army officially received a groundbreaking H-60Mx Black Hawk helicopter, extensively modified to fly with or without a pilot at the controls. (U.S. Army)
The Army this week accepted its first optionally piloted Black Hawk helicopter, a modified version of Sikorsky’s workhorse utility chopper that can be flown by pilots in the cockpit or by troops on the ground, the service announced Friday.
The OPV Black Hawk will soon enter a testing program to determine how and if the Army can integrate the aircraft into its inventory, according to a Friday news release. The delivery comes after more than a decade of work on the first-of-its-kind helicopter led by Sikorsky — which is owned by defense giant Lockheed Martin — and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, known as DARPA.
“By proving out this technology, the Army aims to unlock a new era of aviation. One that will not only save lives but also ensure that critical missions can be completed under any circumstance,” service officials said in the statement. “The delivery of this first OPV Black Hawk is more than just a hardware handover; it’s a tangible step toward a future where technology and soldiers work together in new and powerful ways to ensure mission success.”
Sikorsky and DARPA began developing the OPV Black Hawk as part of a program designed to ensure the safety of future troops. Piloting the helicopter remotely would allow the aircraft to fly into the most dangerous possible conditions without risking pilots’ lives, officials have said.
As the program progressed, Sikorsky built out a program, known as the MATRIX Autonomy Mission Manager, which functions like a brain for the helicopter — giving it the ability to conduct missions autonomously. But Sikorsky officials said MATRIX would also provide new capabilities to pilots in the cockpit when they fly the optionally piloted aircraft.
When piloted, the new Black Hawk is flown by a “fly-by-wire” electronic flight control system, which replaces the long-standing mechanical flight controls in Black Hawks and most military helicopters, according to the Army.
“This makes the aircraft significantly more stable and easier to handle, particularly in challenging conditions where visibility is low,” Army officials said. “By automating difficult maneuvers, the system dramatically reduces pilot workload, allowing the crew to focus less on the mechanics of flying and more on managing the critical mission at hand.”
The U.S. Army officially received a groundbreaking H-60Mx Black Hawk helicopter, extensively modified to fly with or without a pilot at the controls. (Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Co. courtesy photo)
Sikorsky first flew the OPV Black Hawk in 2022. In October, it put the aircraft in soldiers’ hands for the first time during a National Guard training event in Michigan.
“An optionally piloted Black Hawk aircraft can reduce pilot workload in a challenging environment or complete a resupply mission without humans on board,” Rich Benton, Sikorsky’s vice president and general manager, said in a statement after that exercise. “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.”
During that exercise, a National Guard noncommissioned officer with no aviation experience was able to learn in less than one hour to fly the helicopter in drone mode from a tablet, Sikorsky officials said.
Soldiers used the OPV Black Hawk during the exercise to maneuver external equipment, including High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, launcher pods around the training area. They also used it in a simulated medevac mission, Sikorsky officials said.
Sikorsky is also currently developing a fully unpiloted version of the Black Hawk, which it has dubbed the S-70UAS U-Hawk program. That version trades cockpit space for a 25% longer cargo area capable of transporting larger payloads than the current Black Hawk, including uncrewed ground vehicles, some missiles or extra internal fuel tanks for extended range, according to the manufacturer.
UH-60 Black Hawks have been an Army staple since the 1970s. The helicopters shuttle troops and supplies around battlefields and military posts across the globe and conduct the Army’s air medevac mission.
The service expects Black Hawks to fly into the 2070s.
