Sikorsky converts Black Hawk to autonomous unmanned aircraft system

PHOTOS COURTESY OF RESPECTIVE COMPANIES

Lockheed Martin company Sikorsky has transformed a UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter into the S-70UAS U-Hawk, an autonomous uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) with 25% more cargo space than a typical Black Hawk. The cockpit, seats, and crew stations were replaced with actuated clamshell doors and ramp, and conventional flight controls were swapped with a third-generation, fly-by-wire system integrated with Lockheed’s MATRIX autonomy technology.

Forward loading and additional usable cabin space of the U-Hawk aircraft can accommodate oversized loads up to the same maximum gross weight. Like a UH-60L aircraft, a U-Hawk variant retains the ability to load cargo from the side door and externally lift 9,000 lb (4,080kg) using its cargo hook.

The U-Hawk becomes the first fully autonomous Black Hawk helicopter configured to lead and resupply air assault missions. A tablet gives an operator full command of the U-Hawk aircraft from startup to shutdown. At the touch of a button, the two clamshell doors open and a ramp lowers to allow easy cargo loading or drive-on capability. Once loaded, an operator inputs mission goals via the tablet. The MATRIX autonomy system automatically generates a flight plan, relying on cameras, sensors, and algorithms to help navigate the U-Hawk aircraft safely to its destination.

Redesign and structural modification of UH-60L aircraft into uncrewed U-Hawk configuration is led by the company’s rapid prototyping group, Sikorsky Innovations. First flight is expected in 2026.

“The U-Hawk offers a cost-effective utility UAS by leveraging commonality with the existing UH-60 fleet, and its uncrewed nature reduces both operating and maintenance costs,” says Igor Cherepinsky, Sikorsky Innovations director. “We focused on efficiencies in the retrofit by designing and manufacturing vehicle management computers, actuation components, and airframe modifications. We’ll incorporate those efficiencies into future modifications and manufacturing for our family of UAS products.”

Rich Benton, Sikorsky vice president and general manager, says, “We developed this prototype from concept to reality in under a year, and the modifications made to transform this crewed Black Hawk into a multi-mission payload UAS can be replicated at scale quickly and affordably.” https://lockheedmartin.com/uhawk

US Air Force awards Pyka long-range UAS contract

AFWERX, the innovation arm of the Department of the Air Force (DAF) and a directorate within the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), selected robotic aircraft company Pyka’s DropShip long-range, multi-mission cargo uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) for accelerated development.

The AFRL and AFWERX partnership streamlines the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) process through faster proposal-to-award timelines, expanding opportunities to small businesses and eliminating bureaucratic overhead by implementing process improvement changes in contract execution.

Pyka’s CEO Michael Norcia says, “Building on Pyka’s proven commercial technology, we’re excited to develop new capabilities that strengthen operational reach and resilience for the Air Force.”