Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, has received a $6 million award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for the company’s ALIAS/MATRIX installation.™ The U.S. Army’s experimental fly-by-wire UH-60M Blackhawk is equipped with an autonomous flight system.® helicopter. The upgraded aircraft, designated MX, will allow the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) to test and evaluate a wide range of autonomy capabilities, from single-pilot operations to fully unmanned flights.
Rich Benton, Sikorsky vice president and general manager, said, “Autonomous aircraft reduce pilot workload, dramatically improve flight safety, and give combatant commanders the flexibility to execute complex missions in all weather conditions, day or night, in a highly contested and crowded battlespace. “I will,” he said. . “Soldiers will rely on Black Hawk helicopters well into the 2070s, and modernizing today’s aircraft will pay dividends for decades across Army Aviation’s current and future aircraft.”
The MATRIX autonomous system forms the core of DARPA’s Aircrew Labor Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) program. As part of ALIAS in 2020, Sikorsky provided hardware and engineering support to add fly-by-wire flight controls to the MX aircraft. When combined with the MATRIX autonomy system, the MX aircraft will be a near-exact copy of Sikorsky’s UH-60A fly-by-wire selectively piloted Black Hawk helicopter, the company’s flight laboratory testing MATRIX autonomy for hundreds of hours.
Sikorsky plans to integrate the MATRIX system into its MX helicopters in 2025. This aircraft will allow DEVCOM to explore and mature real-world applications and potential operational concepts for scalable autonomous systems. The evaluation includes evaluation of a variety of sensor families to detect and avoid threats, obstacles and terrain, and to develop standards and system specifications that interface with the MATRIX system and fly-by-wire flight control system.
In July 2024, Sikorsky and DARPA will demonstrate to U.S. military personnel and senior Department of Defense officials how the optionally piloted Black Hawk helicopter can be easily flown and controlled by pilots in-flight or on the ground by inputting high-level mission objectives through: demonstrated. tablet.
These recent demonstrations based on autonomous flight from Project Convergence 2022 have successfully demonstrated to the U.S. Army how Sikorsky and DARPA can safely and reliably perform internal and external cargo resupply missions with selectively piloted Black Hawk helicopters operating without humans. This was demonstrated.
Autonomous capabilities, such as MATRIX technology, are a key part of Lockheed Martin’s 21st century security.® This includes modernizing the Black Hawk helicopter fleet to stay ahead of emerging threats.
For more information, visit the Autonomy website.
About Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin is a global defense technology company that drives innovation and advances scientific discovery. Our full spectrum of mission solutions and 21st Century Security® vision accelerate the delivery of innovative technologies to ensure the people we serve are always ahead. For more information, visit LockheedMartin.com.
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