FLASHBACK: (DARPA) Command an Autonomous Black Hawk Helicopter from 300 Miles Away

Lockheed-Martin ^

[TigerClaws]

How do you command a Black Hawk® helicopter to perform a mission autonomously from 300 miles (480 km) away?

Quite simply, by using a tablet connected to the aircraft via datalink.

During the Association of the United States Army's annual meeting in Washington, D.C., (Association of the United States Army 2024), visitors and U.S. Army senior leaders saw how a Black Hawk helicopter integrated with Sikorsky's MATRIX™ autonomy system can receive remote mission commands in real-time. Then, carry out that mission on its own, using its onboard autonomous systems, without remote control or pilot inputs.

The MATRIX system is unique because it's not a simple flight director following a planned route. Instead, the system acts fully independently, reacting to the dynamic combat environment to avoid threats, optimize routing, and execute emergency procedures if necessary.

Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems President Stephanie Hill — a non-pilot — commanded the autonomous Black Hawk helicopter to take off, hover, fly a circuit, and land in Connecticut from a tablet during the AUSA symposium in Washington, DC.

Although safety pilots are in the cockpit, the aircraft flew and navigated itself without pilot input.

Ready to transition to the U.S. Army

Following more than ten years of co-development with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the MATRIX autonomy system is operationally tested. MATRIX will enable contested logistics and operational flexibility with any aircraft, any operator, and in any weather/environment to deliver mission critical, time sensitive sustainment to the point of need.

DARPA Taps Sikorsky to Add Autonomy to U.S. Army-Owned Black Hawk Helicopter

As part of the DARPA ALIAS program, Sikorsky has furthered the development of the MATRIX autonomy system to perform missions with greater efficiency and safety – whether with two pilots, one pilot, or zero pilots on board. As a forward node in the mesh network, MATRIX equipped aircraft provide mission command and fully autonomous capability at the edge.

Ready to transition to the U.S. Army

Ahead of Ready Autonomous capabilities such as MATRIX technology are a key part of Lockheed Martin’s 21st Century Security® vision, which includes modernizing the Black Hawk helicopter to stay ahead of new and emerging threats.

[TigerClaws]

2024 promo from the company. DARPA.

[4Runner]

So this supposed “accidental” collision could instead have been the result of a test of the “Autonomous” function that went horribly awry?

[TigerClaws]

Blackhawk pilot did not fly approved path — Helicopter was 1/2 mile off course and 100+ feet too high.

All the catastrophic mistakes that led to DC plane crash

https://x.com/cancerclasses/status/1885393382870077951

All by “accident”?

[SMARTY]

test ???

[enumerated]

I wish I could say that’s a wacky conspiracy theory - but I think this is a dry plausible theory. In fact, I will one up you: Perhaps the test did not go awry, but instead went just as planned - a dry run for an attack on AF1.

[House Atreides]

“… could instead have been the result of a test of the “Autonomous” function that went horribly awry?”
*************************************************

The pilot and co-pilot also COULD have been mind controlled by reptilian space aliens. Not likely but I just wanted to throw that out there so we have all bases covered. Of course, I doubt that anyone would be gullible enough to believe this alien hypothesis. But some may.

[bleach]

Or Marine One?

[TigerClaws]

Conspiracy PING!

[enumerated]

Sure

[TigerClaws]

This is an advanced system.

What if hostile fire results in death of pilots?

This ‘redundant system’ could be used to save the passenger.

This is a COG - contingency of government - helicopter.

They’d have experienced, top-level pilots prepared for a rare “black swan” event — attack on POTUS or VP making such an evacuation plan necessary.

White House to Air Force One to, for example, stay airborne during a nuclear attack on the United States homeland, including D.C.

So this top-level pilot crew the professionalism of which may save our POTUS and chain of power of our government flies over to one of the busiest airports in the country and ... flies a mile off course, flies a couple hundred feet above mission parameters, and then straight into a commercial aircraft?

Eliminate the nonsensical options (pilot mistake - oops - like this was some lower-level training mission - not buying it) and what are we left with?

1. Suicide - intentional act.

2. Hacking.

They’d have EXTENSIVE background and psychological testing for anyone flying POTUS.

That makes #2 the most likely explanation at this point.

Counter arguments?

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Or went exactly as planned.

[dblshot]

Trapped behind enemy lines we called for evac and a pilot less blackhawk ubered us out! :-)

[null and void]

Conspiracy PING!

If you insist..

The government wants to disarm us after 248 yrs 'cuz they plan to do are doing things we would shoot them for!

At no point in history has any government ever wanted its people to be defenseless for any good reason

The biggest killer of mankind

Nut-job Conspiracy Theory AND/OR Spoiler Alert Ping

To get onto The Nut-job Conspiracy Theory AND/OR Spoiler Alert Ping List you must threaten to report me to the Mods if I don't add you to the list...

"Technology is dominated by two types of people: those who understand what they do not manage, and those who manage what they do not understand." ~ Putt's Law

[4Runner]

You are misunderstanding my comment which is based on an existing add-on that is available for the Blackhawk. Please see the thread on FR which has all of this information. This is not some fantasy it is a real system that can be incorporated into the Blackhawk’s computerization. The system can in fact be “tested” remotely. There’s nothing in my comment to give you any basis to be a jerk and throw insults around. Grow up, kiddo.

[FreedomPoster]

Waymo’d. It Waymo’d you out.

https://waymo.com/

An acquaintance in SF uses them all the time, doesn’t like using Uber anymore.

[House Atreides]

“There’s nothing in my comment to give you any basis to be a jerk and throw insults around. Grow up, kiddo.”
************************************

OK, I’ll grow up. Did you by any chance listen to the radio communications between the helicopter and the tower that continued almost to the instant of the crash? Did the helicopter pilot/copilot sound as if they had lost control to some remote entity? It didn’t to me.

This crash was to a near certainty caused by a series of instances of human errors and incompetence by multiple people.

[TigerClaws]

It’s easy for A.I. to fake voice communications. If you want to go down the rabbit hole of conspiracies, it’s a simple ‘fix’ for anyone with the technology (foreign government?) to execute.

In five minutes on the net I could post A.I. “Trump voice” ordering the pilot of the Black Hawk to stop the plane by directly hitting it. “Voice” communication proves nothing in 2025.

take a look at this footage of an experience POTUS-level, Secret Service approved Black Hawk pilot flying directly into a commercial airline and tell me this is not “odd”:

(BEST VIDEO OUT OF THE INCIDENT BELOW)

https://x.com/aviationbrk/status/1885321930506457450

Breaking Aviation News & Videos
@aviationbrk
Two new videos obtained by CNN show new angles on Wednesday night’s midair collision above Washington DC.

In the videos both aircraft can clearly be seen flying towards each other, then exploding and falling into the river after the fatal explosion.

[TigerClaws]

Same video in case the first link goes down.

Look how bright the lights of the airliner are coming in for a landing:

https://x.com/RogueWarrior24/status/1885411223057162259

MAGA_MAHA_2025
@RogueWarrior24
2 close up videos where you can see the helicopter and plane colliding and hitting the water. I still can’t understand how the helicopter pilot couldn’t see the airplane with all the lights on.

[calljack]

I personally worked on the system that allows the Blackhawk to be flown without a pilot. Self driving helicopter. Take off fly to a destination land. its not hard. The team who wrote the algorithm was lead by a guy who was on the team that wrote the algo for the Tesla self driving car. So, since the mission computer can fly the helicopter, and systems can be remotely accessed, is it possible that a bad actor could take over and do this? yes, it is possible. Do I believe this is what happened? no, I do not. This would be a multi-million dollar operation that would require years of prep and help from the inside. Could you do it? Yes. Would you do it to bring down a plane with zero high value targets? Not a chance in hell.

[Robert DeLong]

If it was a test, then someone should pay for holding a test in that heavy used area. The other possibility is that someone hacked the helicopter's autonomous control & took control of the helicopter.

From what my eyes see, is that the helicopter was deliberately on a collusion course. Which question who or what was in control of the copter.