Defence prime Lockheed Martin's aircraft unit, Sikorsky, has secured a $43 million US Army contract to upgrade its Black Hawk helicopters with the capability to launch unmanned aerial systems (UAS).  

The initial contract will see the airframe and digital backbone of the helicopter upgraded to accommodate UAS integration. 

Lockheed Martin has been testing ways for Black Hawk helicopters to launch and control drones for years. Now, they are working with the Army to formalize this into a system that allows Black Hawks to deploy a wide range of unmanned tools. The goal is to have this ready for actual Army use by next year.   

"Sikorsky is ready to implement new technologies that will strengthen the combat-proven Black Hawk helicopter and give US Army soldiers a greater advantage in areas like the Indo-Pacific," said Hamid Salim, Sikorsky's Army and Air Force systems vice president.

While incredibly useful, Black Hawks are also vulnerable to modern air defences. By launching unmanned systems, the crews can scout terrain, detect threats, and even neutralise them without putting the helicopter at risk. 

The Black Hawks are also to be upgraded with more powerful engines, airframe enhancements, and a main fuel upgrade, allowing them to carry more payload at greater range. Future upgrades to flight controls, which will include autonomy and AI features, will also aid pilots in tough conditions, increasing mission safety and effectiveness.

In October last year, Sikorsky won a $6 million award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to install its ALIAS/MATRIX flight autonomy system onto the helicopter, essentially turning it into a drone. 

This and the UAS integration is part of a broader shift by US Army, in line with the rest of NATO, towards so-called multi-domain operations: the integration and synchronisation of military activities across several operational domains—land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace—to achieve strategic objectives.

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