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 $15 million, led by Near Earth Autonomy and Honeywell, to convert UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters into uncrewed, autonomous logistics platforms.
The primary goal is to enhance operational capabilities in contested environments, reduce the need for pilots, and lower risks to personnel by enabling self-flying aircraft for logistics.
This program establishes a repeatable and scalable process to retrofit a wide range of existing and future rotary-wing aircraft with autonomous capabilities, turning surplus helicopters into vital logistics assets.

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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