First autonomous‑ready Black Hawk delivered
The U.S. Army took delivery of its first 'autonomous‑ready' H‑60Mx Black Hawk—an extensively modified legacy helicopter prepared for self‑flying capability and autonomous operations. The milestone signals more retrofits of existing airframes for future unmanned and optionally piloted roles. (army.mil)
Sikorsky delivered the experimental H-60Mx to the U.S. Army on March 20, 2026 under a technology‑transition agreement that moves the program from DARPA into Army testing custody. (army.mil) The airframe is a fly‑by‑wire conversion of a UH‑60M equipped with Sikorsky’s MATRIX autonomy suite, the proprietary system developed in partnership with DARPA. (darpa.mil) DARPA’s ALIAS (Aircrew Labor In‑Cockpit Automation System) program, which funded the MATRIX work, logged a milestone uninhabited Black Hawk flight on Feb. 5, 2022 at Fort Campbell that provided a baseline for subsequent autonomy integration. (darpa.mil) In October 2024 DARPA awarded Sikorsky roughly $6 million to integrate advanced autonomy onto Army Black Hawks, funding the engineering work that enabled the H‑60Mx conversion. (theaviationist.com) The delivered H‑60Mx will enter an Army‑led advanced operational test campaign in 2026 managed by the Project Manager for Utility Helicopters to validate autonomous performance, remote control modes, and fleet integration. (army.mil) Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin describe MATRIX as a tailorable, removable autonomy “kit” that supports crewed, reduced‑crew, or optionally uncrewed operations and allows high‑level mission tasking from a tablet or ground control station. (news.lockheedmartin.com) Program officials and industry briefs frame the H‑60Mx delivery as the capstone of ALIAS and a service testbed to decide whether optionally piloted technologies should be scaled across the Army’s UH‑60 fleet, which the service expects to operate into the 2070s. (darpa.mil)
