DARPA, Sikorsky complete autonomous flights using UH-60A Black Hawk

US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) ALIAS has completed the first successful fully unmanned flights using a UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter, in collaboration with Sikorsky.

The first half-hour flight using the optionally piloted vehicle (OPV) was conducted on 5 February at the US Army installation at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, with a second uninhabited flight later conducted on 7 February.

The aircraft was retrofitted with Sikorsky’s MATRIX autonomy hardware and DARPA’s Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) software.

Benjamin Williamson, Lead Test Pilot for the Fort Campbell flights, said: “This capability will allow pilots to confidently switch back and forth between autonomy and piloted modes at any point of their mission with the literal flip of a switch. This will support autonomous flight during a wide range of missions such as flight in degraded visual environments (DVE) and confined areas. Most critically, ALIAS will be capable of automatically detecting and preventing dangerous situations that lead to accidents, thereby saving lives.”

“With reduced workloads, pilots can focus on mission management instead of the mechanics,” added Stuart Young, Program Manager in DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office.

The ALIAS program aims to provide the option of full autonomy to aircraft

The ALIAS program ultimately aims to support the autonomous execution of entire missions from take-off to landing, including ‘autonomously handling contingency events such as aircraft system failures.’

DARPA says that the US Army is currently exploring potential use cases for technologies such as ALIAS, including those outlined in its Future Vertical Lift (FVL) aircraft modernization program.

“With ALIAS, the Army will have much more operational flexibility,” said Young. “This includes the ability to operate aircraft at all times of the day or night, with and without pilots, and in a variety of difficult conditions, such as contested, congested, and degraded visual environments.”

DARPA says that the ALIAS program plans to conduct the first flight of a fly-by-wire M-model Black Hawk at Fort Eustis, Virginia within the next month.