American defense and aerospace manufacturer Lockheed Martin said Monday that its subsidiary Sikorsky has completed flight testing and delivered an experimental UH-60MX Black Hawk helicopter integrated with the company’s MATRIX autonomy suite to the United States Army, marking a step in the military’s effort to advance optionally piloted and autonomous flight operations.

According to the company’s press release issued from Fort Eustis, Virginia, the aircraft will support the Army’s research into open-architecture autonomy and allow testing of missions that can shift between crewed, optionally piloted, and fully autonomous modes.

Sikorsky said the UH-60MX mirrors earlier testing conducted on a fly-by-wire variant of the UH-60 Black Hawk platform. The MATRIX autonomy kit has now been installed across multiple Black Hawk variants—including the 60A, 60L, and 60M—with the newly delivered aircraft described as the first full-authority fly-by-wire and optionally piloted version within the Army’s fleet.

“The Army now has a new tool that furthers its vision laid out in the Army Transformation Initiative to mature and qualify pilot-supported autonomy,” Rich Benton, vice president and general manager at Sikorsky, said in the statement. He added that the capability is intended to improve mission effectiveness and survivability while supporting future networked systems.

The company said engineers from Sikorsky and the Army worked during 2025 to install fly-by-wire controls on the MX aircraft before integrating the MATRIX system. The helicopter will be used by the Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, known as DEVCOM, to evaluate autonomy features such as automated landing-zone detection, obstacle avoidance, and real-time terrain awareness.

According to Sikorsky, the system is designed to reduce pilot workload by automating routine flight tasks and to lower long-term maintenance demands through an open-architecture design. The technology also forms part of broader efforts to modernize the Black Hawk platform and develop future optionally piloted or uncrewed aircraft concepts, including the S-70UAS U-Hawk.

The MATRIX autonomy system also supports the cockpit automation work under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency program known as ALIAS, which focuses on reducing crew workload through advanced automation.

Defense analysts say such technologies could influence how military aviation missions are conducted, potentially allowing helicopters to operate in contested environments or logistics roles with fewer crew while maintaining operational flexibility.

Lockheed Martin said the UH-60MX will now be used to help the Army develop tactics and procedures for integrating autonomous and human-machine teamed systems across combat and support missions, as the service explores future battlefield operations.

Source: Press Release