Sikorsky has debuted its new U-Hawk prototype cargo drone, a totally autonomous utility plane developed from the UH-60L Black Hawk, on the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) 2025 exposition.
The system eliminates the cockpit, expands inside cargo house, and is designed to conduct long-range, uncrewed missions utilizing tablet-based operator management.
According to the corporate, the S-70UAS U-Hawk gives 25 p.c extra inside cargo house than the unique UH-60 design. Engineers changed the standard pilot cabin with a hinged clamshell nostril and rearward-lowering cargo ramp, making a forward-loading system for outsized payloads. The plane displayed at AUSA was designed to just accept missiles, small autos, modular containers, or drone swarms, and can even carry inside gasoline tanks for prolonged vary.
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“Sikorsky is innovating a twenty first century resolution by changing UH‑60L Black Hawks into a totally autonomous utility platform,” mentioned Rich Benton, Sikorsky vp and common supervisor. “We developed this prototype from idea to actuality in below a yr, and the modifications made to remodel this crewed Black Hawk right into a multi-mission payload UAS could be replicated at scale rapidly and affordably. The U-Hawk continues the Black Hawk legacy of being the world’s premier utility plane and opens the door to new capabilities as a UAS.”
The U-Hawk is operated totally by distant command utilizing a pill. Once cargo is loaded through the automated ramp and door system, the operator inputs the mission goals. Sikorsky says its MATRIX autonomy system generates the flight plan, counting on onboard cameras, sensors, and algorithms to navigate the plane with out direct pilot enter.
Structural conversion and autonomous integration have been carried out by Sikorsky Innovations, the corporate’s superior prototyping group. The first flight of the U-Hawk is deliberate for 2026.
In an announcement, Igor Cherepinsky, director of Sikorsky Innovations, mentioned: “The U‑Hawk provides a price‑efficient utility UAS by leveraging commonality with the prevailing UH‑60 fleet, and its uncrewed nature reduces each working and upkeep prices. We centered on efficiencies within the retrofit by designing and manufacturing car administration computer systems, actuation elements and airframe modifications. We will incorporate these efficiencies into future modifications and manufacturing for our household of UAS merchandise.”
By eradicating all cockpit-related programs and inside seating, Sikorsky says the U-Hawk is ready to assist outsized cargo as much as the platform’s present most gross weight. The drone variant retains the UH-60’s side-loading functionality and may nonetheless carry 9,000 kilos externally with its cargo hook.
The plane is designed to assist a broad mission set, from transporting as much as 4 Joint Modular Intermodal Containers to carrying a full HIMARS rocket pod or launching a number of small reconnaissance or loitering munitions. According to Sikorsky, it will possibly self-deploy over 1,600 nautical miles or stay on station for as much as 14 hours with out refueling.
The system can be constructed for integration with unmanned floor autos. During the AUSA occasion, Sikorsky demonstrated a situation wherein a U-Hawk deployed and recovered an HDT Hunter Wolf 6×6 UGV through drive-on/drive-off operations utilizing the ahead cargo ramp.
As famous by the corporate, U-Hawk goals to offer a scalable, autonomous transport resolution that minimizes personnel publicity and working prices whereas maximizing logistics flexibility.
