So you are going with the remote H-60. Can’t buy it.
Lockheed Martin Executive Remotely Controls UH-60 Black Hawk from 300 Miles Away During Demo at AUSA Symposium
Parth Satam
The Aviationish
Tue, 22 Oct 2024 00:00 UTC
Black Hawk helicopter
© defence-blog.comBlack Hawk helicopter
The flight simulated ‘contested logistics operations’ where a ground crew hooked up a sling load to the helicopter remotely controlled through the MATRIX system. Tactical flights ferrying supplies from logistics nodes to landing zones in forward areas are routine operations which, if rendered autonomous, can significantly reduce man-hours and fatigue.
A week after DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) contracted Sikorsky to equip the U.S. Army’s experimental fly-by-wire UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter with its MATRIX autonomous flight system, the company demonstrated the technology at the AUSA (Association of the United States Army) symposium in Washington D.C. on Oct. 17, 2024.
Using a tablet connected via a data link to the helicopter 300 miles (483 km) away in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems President Stephanie Hill controlled the UH-60 (registration N600PV). While safety pilots were present inside the cockpit as per FAA (Federal Aviation Authority) regulations, the helicopter autonomously performed take off and hover, before flying a circuit and landing again without pilot input.
MATRIX is the technological foundation for DARPA’s ALIAS (Aircrew Labor In-cockpit Automation System) program that Sikorsky has developed since 2020. The system can receive remote mission commands in real-time without the need of assistance from a flight crew, as emphasized by the press release mentioning that Hill is not a pilot.
As The Aviationist reported, Feb. 5, 2022 saw a UH-60A Optionally Piloted Black Hawk performing the first-of-its-kind 30 minute fully autonomous flight without anyone onboard at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. This was followed by a second flight on Feb. 7. Previous tests in 2021 demonstrated complete supervised autonomy including autonomous take-off, landing and two simulated obstacle avoidance scenarios, all supervised using only a tablet.
That flight also saw the pilot switching to autonomous mode from two-pilot operations and leaving the aircraft. The helicopter autonomously completed a pre-flight checklist, started its engines, navigated at typical speed and altitude through a simulated cityscape, avoiding imagined buildings while performing route re-planning in real time as on-board sensor simulation provided real-time obstacle data.
Data should show this, if transparent...
What is the possibility that she was given control by the mission PIC to fly?
He steps away but keeps PIC comms and let’s her fly the chopper?
He replies to the tower that he can see “the RJ”...male voice.
Gives Rebecca some mission training fly time (pay-boost) and some hours on her record.