An experimental, fly-by-wire H-60Mx Black Hawk helicopter, equipped with a Sikorsky MATRIX autonomy suite, was transferred to the US Army for advanced operational testing, the Defense Department’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced on Friday.
The MATRIX autonomy system automatically generates a flight plan, relying on cameras, sensors and algorithms to help navigate the aircraft. The tests aim to validate the Black Hawk’s ability to be controlled by troops on the ground while performing complex missions without a pilot in the cockpit.
The MATRIX technology system, funded by DARPA, acts as the “brain” of the helicopter, with a powerful flight control and autonomy system.
It also features a Software Development Kit (SDK) that will allow it to integrate third-party software and new sensor technologies, providing a path for “continuous innovation,” the Defense Department’s Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) reported.
Further, “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,” DVIDS noted.
The technology was researched as part of DARPA’s Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) program, with the agency describing it as the “capstone achievement” of the program.
ALIAS’s objective was to “create a highly automated system that could be integrated into existing aircraft to enhance mission flexibility and safety, particularly in complex and contested environments,” DARPA said. It added that the program tested and proved the MATRIX technology, including by demonstrating basic air maneuvers and complex mission profiles.
One notable achievement as part of the program was the world’s first-ever uninhabited flight of a Black Hawk helicopter in 2022, which proved that the MATRIX suite could handle an entire mission, from the pre-flight checks stage to autonomous landing, including successfully responding to simulated system failures.
Part of a ‘much broader vision’
The experimental helicopter “is the forerunner of a much broader vision,” according to DVIDS, serving as the “primary testbed for the Army’s Strategic Autonomy Flight Enabler (SAFE) program,” which aims to develop a universal and scalable autonomy kit that can be installed across all US Army Black Hawk helicopters.
Now that the foundational research and development of the system has been completed, the Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) will own and use the experimental helicopter “as a flying laboratory to mature and expand the technology,” DARPA said.
The Optimally Piloted Vehicle (OPV) will now enter a rigorous testing phase, the DVIDS announced.
The next phase of the program, DARPA said, will “focus on integrating advanced mission-specific sensors and exploring the unprecedented operational flexibility afforded by reduced-crew and fully autonomous flight.”
Delivering the US Army a ‘significant operational edge’
“The ALIAS program has successfully developed and demonstrated a powerful, flexible automation architecture that is now poised to provide the US Army with a significant operational edge,” ALIAS program manager in DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office Stuart Young said.
“This transition is a testament to the power of government and industry partnership to advance technology. It will allow the army to build on a solid foundation of technical-risk reduction, enabling them to explore new warfighting concepts and push the boundaries of what’s possible in aviation,” he concluded.