Army Partners to Automate UH-60L Black Hawk

Near Earth Autonomy and Honeywell look to retrofit helicopters with systems that could eliminate the need for onboard crew, remote pilots, and continuous data links.

Jack Daleo

Tuesday, April 29, 2025 at 02:27 PM ET

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Jack Daleo

A U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter [Courtesy: U.S. Army]

Key Takeaways:

The U.S. military is investing in aircraft autonomy, with Near Earth Autonomy and Honeywell leading a $15 million project to retrofit U.S. Army UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters for uncrewed logistics missions.
This initiative aims to enhance operational capabilities in contested areas, mitigate risks to personnel, and repurpose surplus aircraft by enabling them to fly autonomously without pilots or continuous data links.
The project seeks to establish a scalable process for retrofitting autonomy systems, applicable to a wide range of current and future rotary-wing aircraft.
Beyond Black Hawks, the military is broadly pursuing autonomous flight capabilities across various aircraft types, including tankers and cargo drones, with multiple industry partners.

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The U.S. military is looking to take the pilot out of the cockpit of one of its workhorse helicopters.

Near Earth Autonomy—which says its autonomy systems have powered more than 10,000 flights on over 140 airframes from Airbus, Boeing, Bell, Leonardo, and other manufacturers—on Tuesday announced it will lead a $15 million effort to retrofit U.S. Army UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters alongside Honeywell. The project is funded by the Army Program Executive