Sikorsky’s U-Hawk: Transforming the Black Hawk Legacy into an Autonomous Future

By Garth Calitz

In just ten months, Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, has reimagined the iconic UH-60L Black Hawk into a fully autonomous aircraft system: the S-70UAS U-Hawk. This next-generation unmanned helicopter marks a significant leap forward in vertical lift autonomy, offering 25% more cargo space and a design tailored for flexibility, endurance, and affordability.

Unveiled at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) exposition, the U-Hawk demonstrates how a legacy platform can evolve into a future-proofed solution for multi-domain operations. By removing the traditional cockpit and replacing it with actuated clamshell doors, a loading ramp, and a third-generation fly-by-wire system integrated with Sikorsky’s MATRIX™ autonomy technology, engineers have created a platform capable of performing complex missions—without a pilot on board.

From Concept to Reality in Less Than a Year

Sikorsky’s achievement is not just technological—it’s also a testament to speed and innovation. “We developed this prototype from concept to reality in under a year,” said Rich Benton, Sikorsky’s vice president and general manager. “The modifications made to transform this crewed Black Hawk into a multi-mission payload UAS can be replicated at scale quickly and affordably. The U-Hawk continues the Black Hawk legacy of being the world’s premier utility aircraft and opens the door to new capabilities as a UAS.”

The project was led by Sikorsky Innovations, the company’s rapid prototyping division, which oversaw the redesign and structural modification of the UH-60L airframe into its new uncrewed configuration. The aircraft’s first flight is scheduled for 2026, setting the stage for a new era in autonomous rotary-wing aviation.

Expanding Capability and Mission Flexibility

By removing the cockpit and its associated crew systems, the U-Hawk significantly increases its internal cargo capacity. The extra space, 25% more than a standard UH-60L, enables operators to carry larger or longer payloads, such as missile pods or uncrewed ground vehicles (UGVs). This flexibility opens the aircraft to a wide range of new mission profiles, both military and commercial.

The forward-loading design allows quick and efficient access to the cabin. At the touch of a button, the clamshell doors open and a ramp lowers automatically, enabling easy roll-on/roll-off operations for supplies or vehicles. Once loaded, the sequence reverses autonomously to prepare the aircraft for flight.

The U-Hawk’s expanded mission potential includes:

• Air-Ground Teaming: Transport and deploy uncrewed ground vehicles like the HDT Hunter Wolf 6x6 UGV directly into operational zones.

• Cargo Operations: Carry up to four Joint Modular Intermodal Containers—double the capacity of a traditional Black Hawk.

• Missile Transport: Move a HIMARS pod of six rockets or two Naval Strike Missiles, supporting rapid mobility and rearming operations.

• Launched Effects: Deploy reconnaissance or strike drones from internal “quivers,” extending surveillance and offensive reach.

• Endurance and Range: Achieve over 1,600 nautical miles of self-deployment range or loiter for up to 14 hours without refuelling, thanks to the ability to carry internal fuel tanks.

Like its crewed counterpart, the U-Hawk can also load cargo from side doors and perform external lifts up to 9,000 pounds (4,080 kg), ensuring compatibility with existing support infrastructure and mission profiles.

Autonomous Flight: Controlled by Operators, Not Pilots

Perhaps the most revolutionary element of the U-Hawk is its fully autonomous flight control system. Instead of a pilot, an operator uses a tablet interface to command the aircraft—from startup and takeoff to landing and shutdown.

The system is designed for intuitive operation: once mission objectives are entered, the MATRIX autonomy suite generates a flight plan and executes it autonomously. MATRIX uses a network of cameras, sensors, and advanced algorithms to navigate safely, avoid obstacles, and adapt to changing environments in real time. This autonomy not only simplifies mission control but also removes human risk from hazardous operations, enabling deployments in contested or disaster-stricken regions where sending a crewed helicopter would be too dangerous.

Leveraging Proven Platforms for the Future

A central advantage of the U-Hawk lies in its heritage and commonality with the vast existing UH-60 fleet. The Black Hawk is one of the most widely used utility helicopters in the world, with thousands in service across dozens of nations. By using the UH-60L as a foundation, Sikorsky ensures that the U-Hawk benefits from an established supply chain, maintenance ecosystem, and decades of proven reliability.

This retrofit approach also makes the U-Hawk cost-effective to produce and operate. “The U-Hawk offers a cost-effective utility UAS by leveraging commonality with the existing UH-60 fleet, and its uncrewed nature reduces both operating and maintenance costs,” said Igor Cherepinsky, director of Sikorsky Innovations. “We focused on efficiencies in the retrofit by designing and manufacturing vehicle management computers, actuation components and airframe modifications. We will incorporate those efficiencies into future modifications and manufacturing for our family of UAS products.”

Autonomous Utility at Scale

The U-Hawk’s modular architecture means its transformation process can be applied rapidly and affordably to other existing Black Hawks. By standardising key components, such as the fly-by-wire system, autonomy suite, and structural modifications, Sikorsky can scale production to meet the needs of both US and allied operators.

This scalability represents a strategic advantage in modern defence planning, where speed of production and adaptability are as critical as performance. The U-Hawk could serve as an essential logistics asset for high-risk or long-endurance missions, supporting resupply, surveillance, evacuation, and drone-launch operations—all without endangering crew members.

A Bridge Between Manned and Unmanned Operations

While the U-Hawk is fully autonomous, it also serves as a bridge technology between crewed and uncrewed aviation. The aircraft retains much of the Black Hawk’s familiar architecture and mission profile, allowing operators to integrate it seamlessly into existing fleets. Future military and commercial missions could employ mixed teams of crewed and uncrewed Black Hawks, coordinated via autonomous command networks.

This hybrid model aligns with the Pentagon’s emerging focus on manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T), where human pilots and autonomous systems collaborate to expand capability, improve safety, and enhance operational tempo.

Continuing the Black Hawk Legacy

For more than 40 years, the Black Hawk has been a symbol of reliability and versatility in military aviation. With the S-70UAS U-Hawk, Sikorsky is ensuring that legacy continues into the age of autonomy. The U-Hawk is not just a new aircraft—it’s a new concept of operation, one that merges the ruggedness of the Black Hawk with the intelligence of next-generation autonomy.

As the aerospace industry shifts toward uncrewed logistics and operational efficiency, the U-Hawk stands as a pioneering example of how legacy platforms can evolve rather than be replaced. The transformation from UH-60L to U-Hawk took less than a year—but its impact on the future of aviation will last for decades.