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Army

First Autonomous Black Hawk Flight With No Safety Pilots Set For January, Potential Role For Tech On Enduring Fleet

By Matthew Beinart

Friday, November 12th, 2021

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First Autonomous Black Hawk Flight With No Safety Pilots Set For January, Potential Role For Tech On Enduring Fleet

A Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter (Photo: Lockheed Martin)

DARPA is planning its first fully autonomous UH-60 Black Hawk flight with no safety pilots onboard this January, with the Army assessing how it may leverage the technology for its enduring helicopter fleet. A lead program official for DARPA’s ALIAS program, which has been running for about six years, told reporters he anticipates the technology transitioning to the Army in near future as the service anticipates potential use cases from aircrew augmentation to potential completely autonomous operations. “It makes common…

Congress

SASC Cites Concern With Army’s sUAS Approach, Seeks Info On Plans To Scale Fielding

Senate defense authorizers are seeking more info from the Army on its plans for scaling and deploying small drone capabilities citing concern with the service’s current “fragmented and insufficient” approach. […]

SASC Bill Would Raise Amphib Requirement To 33 Ships

The Senate Armed Services Committee’s (SASC) fiscal year 2027 defense policy bill adds new provisions that would raise the Navy and Marine Corps’ minimum requirement for amphibious warships and extend […]

Army

Army Plans To Initiate ISV-Heavy Competition Later This Year, Official Says

The Army is planning to initiate its competition to build the Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV)-Heavy in the fourth quarter of this year, a senior acquisition official has said. Jesse Tolleson, […]

Senate Authorization Bill Restricts Building Navy Warships Overseas With Limited Exception For Auxiliaries

The Senate Armed Services Committee’s (SASC) version of the FY 2027 defense policy bill looks to cut the ability for the Trump administration to buy foreign-made warships, but still allow […]