Sikorsky Set to Showcase Next-Gen Flight Autonomy for U.S. Marine Corps
Sikorsky, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), has been chosen by the U.S. Marine Corps to exhibit the advanced capabilities and reliability of the MATRIX™ flight autonomy system.
Mission-critical demonstration flights slated for 2025 utilizing Sikorsky’s Optionally Piloted UH-60 Black Hawk® helicopter will provide insights to the service’s Aerial Logistics Connector initiative on how unmanned aircraft can replenish and support Marines in contested environments.
“Aircraft equipped with MATRIX autonomy can securely and efficiently execute a range of complex operations, encompassing both internal and external cargo transportation without any crew on board,” stated Rich Benton, Vice President and General Manager of Sikorsky. “Our collaboration with the Marine Corps will investigate how an autonomy-driven fleet of unmanned aerial systems, including rotary and fixed-wing aviation, can effectively sustain the expeditionary force with precise resupply during rapid, distributed operations.”
The Marine Corps exhibitions will illustrate how autonomous aircraft can ensure future Marine forces remain supplied, regardless of whether they are operating from Navy vessels or land-based expeditionary bases. Additionally, Marines will be able to interact with Sikorsky’s autonomous aircraft through a tablet to alter mission parameters before or after launch.
Funding for the demonstrations of the MATRIX flight system is provided through a recent Phase 1 Aerial Logistics Connector agreement via an Other Transaction Agreement under the Naval Aviation Systems Consortium granted to Sikorsky by the Naval Air Systems Command.
Platform-agnostic autonomy solution
Sikorsky Innovations, the accelerated development and prototyping division, has showcased mission-critical capabilities of the MATRIX system in both military and commercial operational contexts across multiple rotary and fixed-wing platforms.
Originally designed to enhance flight safety for crewed helicopters, the system has progressed with support from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) ALIAS program. Innovative features comprise assisted flight management for dual pilot operations, virtual co-pilot for solo pilots, or entirely autonomous flight without pilots.
Recent MATRIX autonomy showcases
In July at Stafford Airport, Virginia, and subsequently in October 2024 at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) exhibition in Washington D.C., Sikorsky and DARPA displayed autonomous flights of the Optionally Piloted Black Hawk helicopter to Department of Defense (DoD) representatives.
At the October showcase, DoD officials on the AUSA tradeshow floor learned how to send high-level mission objectives to the helicopter. Three hundred miles away at Sikorsky’s headquarters in Connecticut, the aircraft autonomously lifted off, hovered, completed a brief circuit of the flight area, and landed successfully.
These latest demonstrations build upon autonomous logistics flights conducted during Project Convergence 2022 when Sikorsky and DARPA effectively demonstrated to the U.S. Army how the Optionally Piloted Black Hawk helicopter, with no human presence, can safely and dependably carry out internal and external cargo resupply operations.
