Autonomous Black Hawk moves to Army
DARPA’s optionally piloted H-60Mx Black Hawk autonomy system has been transferred to the U.S. Army for operational testing, marking a jump from R&D to real‑world logistics and contested‑scenario experiments. The program uses Sikorsky’s MATRIX autonomy and aims to reduce pilot risk while proving autonomy on legacy airframes. (theaviationist.com)
The H-60Mx was formally handed to Army aviation officials at Fort Eustis on March 19–20, 2026 as part of a technology transition agreement that moves the airframe from DARPA stewardship to Army-led testing. (army.mil)) The aircraft is a UH-60M extensively converted to fly-by-wire and fitted with Sikorsky’s MATRIX autonomy suite and dedicated flight computers under the DARPA transition package. (darpa.mil)) DARPA says the delivery is the capstone of its Aircrew Labor In‑Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) effort, a program conceived to create a tailorable, drop‑in automation kit for legacy aircraft that first demonstrated an uncrewed UH-60 flight on Feb. 5, 2022. (darpa.mil)) Sikorsky’s MATRIX includes an “Autonomy Mission Manager” that accepts high‑level mission objectives and executes navigation, sensor fusion and landing tasks; the system was tested in a public demo where operators commanded a Black Hawk from a tablet some 300 miles away at AUSA 2024. (stripes.com)) The Army plans a “rigorous testing” campaign focused on real‑world logistics, ground‑control integration, contested‑environment resilience and reduced‑crew concepts to determine operational procedures and certification requirements. (defensescoop.com)) DARPA awarded Sikorsky a contract for the MATRIX installation in October 2024 (roughly $6 million reported), with integration work carried out through 2025 and earlier flight labs (Sikorsky’s SARA) logging the autonomy development hours that fed into the H‑60Mx build. (theaviationist.com))
