New $15 Million Program Goals to Strengthen Military Operations in Contested Environments with Uncrewed Helicopter Flights
Military Backs Autonomous Black Hawk Retrofit Initiative
The U.S. Military has chosen Close to Earth Autonomy (Close to Earth) to steer a $15 million challenge to develop and subject an optionally piloted contested logistics answer. This system will retrofit UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters with superior autonomy kits. Funded by Military Program Govt Workplace, Aviation (PEO Aviation), the challenge is a collaboration between Close to Earth and Honeywell.
This system’s objective is to create a logistics platform able to 24/7 high-tempo operations with out the necessity for onboard crews, distant pilots, or steady information hyperlinks. This minimizes dangers to personnel whereas growing operational tempo and throughput.
The initiative additionally units the muse for a repeatable, scalable retrofit course of. This enables the Military to modernize legacy rotary-wing plane rapidly, with out lengthy acquisition cycles. The UH-60L is the primary goal, however the design will assist adaptability throughout a number of airframes.
Close to Earth’s Captain Structure on the Core
Central to the retrofit is Close to Earth’s deterministic autonomy structure, known as Captain. Captain ensures mission assurance even in degraded environments, resembling areas with out GPS or dependable communications.
Captain allows protected flight and hazard avoidance with out human pilots or dwell distant management. The system makes use of a Modular Open Programs Strategy (MOSA) to make sure modularity, affordability, and straightforward upgrades.
Close to Earth’s lengthy historical past in autonomous aviation helps this system’s basis. In 2010, the corporate accomplished the world’s first totally autonomous helicopter flight for the U.S. Military’s Fight Medic Evacuation program. Close to Earth additionally developed autonomy methods for the Workplace of Naval Analysis’s Autonomous Aerial Cargo/Utility System (AACUS) program, demonstrating uncrewed helicopter cargo deliveries in hazardous environments.
“This program is a major step ahead for Military logistics and autonomy,” mentioned Sanjiv Singh, CEO of Close to Earth. “We’re proud to deliver our confirmed helicopter autonomy expertise to bear and excited to see it operationalized at scale to assist troopers within the subject.”
Honeywell Helps Scalable, Certifiable Avionics
Honeywell is collaborating intently with Close to Earth to ship an reasonably priced, scalable, and certifiable answer. Honeywell’s contributions draw from their current avionics platforms, together with flight decks, Compact Fly-by-Wire methods, and navigation applied sciences.
“Our avionics supplies a modular, certifiable basis that aligns with each right now’s operational tempo and tomorrow’s autonomy objectives,” mentioned Matt Milas, President, Protection & House, Honeywell Aerospace Applied sciences. “Whether or not for piloted, optionally piloted, or totally autonomous plane, our methods scale to satisfy evolving army wants with a certifiable basis.”
Honeywell’s applied sciences are engineered for each retrofitting current plane and supporting next-generation uncrewed methods. The options are constructed to satisfy right now’s mission calls for whereas enabling long-term developments towards autonomous flight.
A Step Ahead in Military Logistics Operations
Close to Earth started working towards an autonomous Black Hawk in 2021. Their autonomy methods have already powered greater than 10,000 flights throughout over 140 completely different airframes, together with these from Airbus, Bell, Boeing, Kaman, and Leonardo.
By way of this new program, the Military and Close to Earth will develop operational procedures for autonomous logistics flights. A sequence of flight checks will result in a mature, mission-ready product that improves the Military’s means to function in contested, advanced environments with better pace, scale, and security.
About Close to Earth Autonomy
Close to Earth Autonomy builds know-how that permits plane to take off, fly, and land safely with or with out GPS. Their methods assist aerial mobility for each industrial and protection companions. By bridging aerospace and robotics, Close to Earth supplies options that enhance the effectivity, efficiency, and security of drones and helicopters of all sizes. Study extra at nearearth.aero.
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Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, knowledgeable drone providers market, and a fascinated observer of the rising drone business and the regulatory atmosphere for drones. Miriam has penned over 3,000 articles targeted on the industrial drone area and is a world speaker and acknowledged determine within the business. Miriam has a level from the College of Chicago and over 20 years of expertise in excessive tech gross sales and advertising and marketing for brand spanking new applied sciences.
For drone business consulting or writing, E mail Miriam.
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