Black Hawk drone remotely flown by soldier using tablet with 'Matrix'

A historic milestone was achieved in August 2025 when a US Army National Guard sergeant first class, without prior pilot training, successfully planned and executed missions using an optionally piloted Black Hawk helicopter remotely via a handheld tablet. This demonstration occurred during the Northern Strike 25-2 exercise, showcasing the Black Hawk equipped with Sikorsky’s MATRIX autonomy technology, developed with DARPA and the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency. The optionally piloted vehicle (OPV) Black Hawk can operate either with a pilot onboard or autonomously, enabling missions such as cargo delivery, precision airborne drops, sling-load transport, and simulated medical evacuations without human pilots aboard. The OPV Black Hawk completed multiple complex logistics and recovery tasks under real operational conditions, including a 70-nautical-mile resupply mission remotely commanded from a Coast Guard vessel on Lake Huron. Other notable achievements included an autonomous airborne hookup of a 2,900-pound water tank and six autonomous sling-load operations transporting HIMARS rocket launcher tubes.