SIKORSKY’S NEXT ACT(S)


In 2022, an


unmanned Black Hawk equipped with Sikorsky’s Matrix autonomy technology flew as


part of a US DARPA demonstration


project in Arizona.


(flying fast and low while using terrain to mask the aircraft’s presence), troop resupply with an external load, and rerouting midflight to evacuate a casualty. In late 2024, Sikorsky announced plans for


2025 demonstration flights for the US Marine Corps Aerial Logistics Connector program. Using an optionally piloted Black Hawk, the flights will show how an autonomous aircraft can resupply and sustain Marines in a contested battlespace. “Aircraft with Matrix autonomy can safely and


reliably perform a variety of complex missions, including internal and external cargo transport with no one on board,” says Sikorsky’s Benton. “With the Marine Corps, we will explore how an autonomy-based fleet of uncrewed aerial systems and rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft can sustain the expeditionary force with precision resupply during distributed, high-tempo operations.” The Marine Corps announcement follows a demonstration of autonomous, unmanned Black


54 POWER UP JUN 2025


Hawk flights for senior US Department of Defense officials at the annual meeting of the Association of the United States Army in October 2024. From the trade show floor in Washington, D.C., mission goals were sent to the helicopter more than 300 miles away at Sikorsky’s Stratford, Connecticut, headquarters. The aircraft autonomously took off, hovered, flew a field circuit, and landed. Sikorsky is also testing the Matrix autonomy


platform for civil applications. During the early 2025 Southern California wildfires, Sikorsky Firehawks proved to be an invaluable tool for day/ night fire suppression missions. The multimission Firehawk is a Sikorsky S-70, specially modified by United Rotorcraft, fitted with a 1,000-gal. drop tank, snorkel, and related systems and equipment.


Sikorsky’s rotor blown wing UAS in January successfully demonstrated a transition between horizontal and vertical flight.


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