U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopters will evaluate Sikorsky flight-autonomy system under DARPA contract
NewsOctober 14, 2024
WASHINGTON. Sikorsky reports it won a $6 million award from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to install the Sikorsky ALIAS/MATRIX flight-autonomy system onto the U.S. Army’s experimental fly-by-wire UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter.
Under the terms of the DARPA contract, Sikorsky -- a Lockheed Martin company -- will integrate the MATRIX system into the MX helicopter in 2025 with the aim of enabling the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) to explore and mature the practical applications and potential concept of operations of a scalable autonomy system. According to the Sikorsky announcement, the MATRIX evaluation will include assessment of different sensor suites to perceive and avoid threats, obstacles, and terrain, and development of standards and system specifications interfaced with the MATRIX system and a fly-by-wire flight control system.
The upgraded Black Hawk, designated MX, will test and evaluate a wide range of autonomy capabilities, from single-pilot operation to fully uninhabited flight, stated Sikorsky officials. “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,” said Rich Benton, Sikorsky vice president and general manager. “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.”
The MATRIX autonomy system is at the center of DARPA's ALIAS [Aircrew Labor In-cockpit Automation System] program. In 2020, Sikorsky provided the hardware and engineering support to add fly-by-wire flight controls to the MX aircraft as part of the ALIAS program. The company asserts that the MX aircraft, when combined with the MATRIX autonomy system, will be a near-exact copy of Sikorsky’s UH-60A fly-by-wire Optionally Piloted Black Hawk helicopter, the company’s flying lab that has tested MATRIX autonomy over hundreds of flight hours.
