Unpiloted military helicopter flies 134 km in simulated mission

An retrofitted Black Hawk helicopter flew autonomously between mountains to ship blood provides in a simulated mission. It additionally picked up a simulated medical casualty

By Jeremy Hsu

A US navy helicopter managed completely by a flight pc flew low and quick by means of a valley whereas making a 134-kilometre demonstration flight to ship blood provides.

A separate take a look at flight confirmed how the autonomous model of a Black Hawk helicopter might additionally decide up a couple of metric ton of cargo slung beneath its stomach and even change flight paths to select up a model standing in for a wounded soldier. The flight demonstrations passed off throughout an train in October.

“It’s a very autonomous system,” mentioned Igor Cherepinsky at Sikorsky Improvements, the plane producer that produces the Black Hawk, at a press convention. “When you clarify what the mission is, you don’t even want an information hyperlink – the plane makes all the choices.”

This was the newest milestone in a US Protection Superior Analysis Initiatives Company program referred to as ALIAS that’s testing Sikorsky’s MATRIX know-how – a drop-in equipment that may convert helicopters into plane that fly autonomously. The primary shorter flight exams with none people on board passed off in February.

“I feel it’s a major bounce from the prior workout routines and experiments the place there was nonetheless a pilot onboard,” says Stacie Pettyjohn on the Heart for New American Safety, a nationwide safety assume tank in Washington, D.C. “Eighty miles is a fairly vital distance.”

Through the latest Military train, the flight concerned the Black Hawk helicopter carrying 227 kilograms (500 kilos) of each simulated and actual blood. The helicopter flew as little as 200 toes above the bottom at 185 kilometres per hour (115 miles per hour) between mountains, counting on onboard sensors to keep away from crashing into something. “We’re a self-flying automotive, if you’ll, so we utilise lidar and cameras,” mentioned Cherepinsky.

A separate flight take a look at began out with the helicopter lifting off with a metric ton of cargo hooked up to a 12-metre (40-foot) sling and flying towards a delegated touchdown zone. Throughout that flight, Sikorsky confirmed how a human operator on the bottom might use a touchscreen desk to command the uncrewed helicopter to drop its sling load and divert to select up the simulated battlefield casualty.

The autonomous Black Hawks could keep away from some prior controversies involving autonomous navy autos armed with weapons. However there’s all the time a threat that such autonomous plane, even these with out weapons, might trigger injury or hurt to folks on the bottom if one thing goes mistaken, says Pettyjohn.

The drone variations of Black Hawks and different navy plane might doubtlessly carry out resupply runs with out risking the lives of human pilots. However the MATRIX equipment improve might additionally allow plane to proceed finishing up much less harmful missions on their very own whereas their human crews are resting.

“There may be doubtlessly super worth in doing these softer missions that aren’t essentially on the pointy finish of the spear,” says Pettyjohn.