Introduction of U-Hawk, a Fully Autonomous Cargo Black Hawk
Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, has unveiled the S-70UAS U-Hawk, a fully autonomous variant of the UH-60 Black Hawk designed to operate as a heavy-lift cargo drone.
The U-Hawk was developed in just ten months, transforming the crewed helicopter into a platform capable of operating without pilots on board by replacing the Black Hawk’s cockpit with actuated clamshell doors and a loading ramp.
Equipped with MATRIX autonomy software and a new fly-by-wire system, the aircraft can take off, fly, and land entirely under autonomous control.
"We developed this prototype from concept to reality in under a year," said Rich Benton, Sikorsky vice president and general manager. "The U-Hawk continues the Black Hawk legacy of being the world’s premier utility aircraft and opens the door to new capabilities as a UAS.
Author's summary: Sikorsky introduces U-Hawk autonomous cargo drone.