The UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter is one of the most widely used and legendary helicopters used by the US military. It is also exported all over the world and is a real workhorse for the US military. There are countless variants, which is one of the reasons the Black Hawk has been in service since it was first introduced in 1979. You'd think the aircraft manufacturer would have exploited the airframe as much as possible by delivering multiple variants, but you'd be wrong.
The latest variant of the UH-60 is unlike any other and is a potential game changer. The U-Hawk is the name Sikorsky (a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin) has given to its fully autonomous UH-60 variant. The U-Hawk is touted on the company's website as “Unpiloted. Uncrewed. Undaunted” and has been given the placeholder designation S-70UAS. It is indeed an unmanned aerial system (UAS), as the U-Hawk does not require a physical pilot or crew.
It can transport all kinds of cargo into and out of hostile areas. Furthermore, it can be easily controlled by a single soldier on the ground. By eliminating the need for a manned cockpit, the U-Hawk has 25% more cargo space than its predecessor. Moreover, they can fly independently or fly in formation through the air. It took just 10 months for Sikorsky to come up with the concept and put the U-Hawk into production. The prototype is expected to make its maiden flight in 2026, and should everything prove effective, it could enter the US military's inventory shortly thereafter.
Read more: 11 of the most iconic military ground attack aircraft in history
Why bother converting a proven aircraft into a UAS?
An image showing some features of the U-Hawk helicopter – Lockheed Martin
More than 5,000 Black Hawk helicopters exist, which begs the question, “Why bother making them automated at all?” After all, they have a proven track record in and out of combat operations on multiple fronts, so it's a fair question. Placing pilots and crew members on an aircraft comes with risks, and removing them completely increases storage space. That alone makes it a worthwhile endeavor, but it's also true that the future of warfare is all about drones.
The conflicts of the 21st century have proven this, so militaries around the world are hard at work automating aircraft and creating new systems. The U-Hawk can easily move in and out of a target area, where it can pick up or drop off up to 10,000 lbs. of supplies. It can also carry a HIMARS missile system, unmanned ground vehicles and more. The built-in software and external hardware make it possible for anyone to fly it; you don't need a pilot.
A soldier can use a tablet to remotely command a U-Hawk and assign it to various missions. It's unclear if the U-Hawk will carry personnel, but it certainly has the cargo capacity should the need arise, although none of the mockups show seats in the hold. According to Sikorsky, which also produces the UH-60 Black Hawk, the U-Hawk has a self-deployment range of 3,000 kilometers, can carry six HIMARS missiles internally, has 95% similarity to existing UH-60s, making for easier maintenance, and soldiers only need one tablet to fly them.
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