Sikorsky Launches ‘Matrix’ Autonomous Flight Program

Sikorsky developing a higher level, second generation of autonomous flight capability.

The S-76 Sikorsky Autonomous Research Aircraft (Sara) performed its first test flight on July 26 in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Photo: Sikorsky)

August 12, 2013

Sikorsky Aircraft is developing a set of hardware and software capabilities to support autonomous flight of unmanned or optionally piloted vertical-lift aircraft. Executives said the goal is to deliver an order of magnitude improvement in the safety and reliability of unmanned aircraft, which experience losses at a rate of once every 1,000 flight hours.

The same Sikorsky Innovations group that developed and flew the X2 compound coaxial helicopter to a speed of 250 knots in September 2010 is behind the so-called “Matrix” program to develop what executives described as a higher level, second generation of autonomous flight capability. The program conducted its first test flight on July 26 of an S-76 fitted with fly-by-wire flight controls and multiple sensors for situational awareness. The S-76 Sikorsky Autonomous Research Aircraft (Sara), which is based at the company’s West Palm Beach, Fla. development flight center, will be joined later this year by a U.S. Army UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter with fly-by-wire flight control, serving as a second testbed. Sikorsky and the Army’s Aviation Applied Technology Directorate have a cooperative research and development agreement to test “unpiloted” autonomous cargo missions.

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