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Sikorsky’s optionally piloted Black Hawk aircraft demonstrates an unmanned resupply mission in 2022. (Courtesy photo | Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.)
” data-medium-file=”https://fortworthreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Sikorsky-Black-Hawk-1.jpeg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://fortworthreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Sikorsky-Black-Hawk-1.jpeg?fit=780%2C520&ssl=1″ tabindex=”0″ role=”button”>A Lockheed Martin Corp. company has been tapped for a $6 million defense contract to install a flight autonomy system into the U.S. Army’s experimental UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter in 2025.Using Matrix fly-by-wire technology, Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., which has an office in Grapevine, will seek to essentially convert the helicopter into a drone for a fully uninhabited flight, according to a news release.The Stratford, Connecticut-based company’s contract with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency will allow the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command to test and evaluate the technology and its applications in military use.“Autonomy-enabled aircraft will reduce pilot workload, dramatically improve flight safety and give battle commanders the flexibility to perform complex missions in contested and congested battlespace, day or night in all weather conditions,” Rich Benton, Sikorsky vice president and general manager, said in a statement. “Soldiers will rely on Black Hawk helicopters into the 2070s, and modernizing the aircraft today will pay dividends for decades across Army Aviation’s current and future aircraft.”The Matrix system, part of DARPA’s Aircrew Labor In-cockpit Automation System — or ALIAS — since 2020, will add fly-by-wire flight controls to experimental aircraft in 2025 as part of hardware and engineering support by Sikorsky. The company was acquired by Fort Worth-based Lockheed Martin in 2015.“When combined with the MATRIX autonomy system, the MX aircraft will be a near-exact copy of Sikorsky’s UH-60A fly-by-wire optionally piloted Black Hawk helicopter, the company’s flying lab that has tested MATRIX autonomy over hundreds of flight hours,” the company said.Evaluation of the Matrix system, Sikorsky said, will include assessment of different sensor suites to perceive and avoid threats, obstacles and terrain, and develop standards and system specifications interfaced with the system and a fly-by-wire flight control system.A military demonstration in July 2024 showed senior defense officials how the Black Hawk helicopter can be easily flown and controlled by an operator in the cabin or on the ground using a tablet.The demonstration followed a test in 2022 that showed an operator could use the helicopter without personnel on board to safely perform internal and external cargo resupply missions.Sikorsky is named for aviation pioneer Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky, who created the world’s first multiengine airplane in Russia in 1913 and developed the world’s first practical helicopter before he launched his career in the United States.Sikorsky’s Matrix technology is part of Lockheed Martin’s 21st Century Security program to stay ahead of emerging threats, the company said.Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin has announced ModSTAR, a new engineering initiative to deliver new products faster and with planned modular upgrades.“ModSTAR shares digital and hardware models between programs, transforming the way we support customer requirements when developing new programs, ensuring scalable, flexible and open systems to meet evolving needs,” Lockheed Martin said in a news release.The company said its digital engineering simulation environment, Arise, will use artificial intelligence and machine learning in its simulation and data analytics suite. Recent examples of successful applications of Arise include a $4.6 million contract announcement last year to develop AI tools for DARPA’s Artificial Intelligence Reinforcements initiative and the Precision Strike Missile program.Eric E. Garcia is a senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.