US Army tests Airbus autonomous cargo helicopter that can reroute around sudden no-fly zones

Operators controlled the aircraft from as far as 70 miles away using communications infrastructure that supports beyond-line-of-sight operations. The helicopter follows a flight plan supplied by a human operator while onboard autonomy software handles navigation and responses to changing conditions, according to the report.

In one exercise, a restricted-airspace area was introduced during the flight and the aircraft calculated an alternative route using its onboard systems. “The aircraft had to autonomously make decisions about how it was going to route itself around the no-fly zones,” said Jaysen Yochim, Airbus’ senior director for the Aerial Logistics Connector programme.

The five flights demonstrated autonomous hovering, complex turns and conventional airport traffic patterns. A pilot remained aboard for safety, but Yochim said the individual never needed to take control. The helicopter’s autonomy depends partly on Shield AI’s Hivemind software, which interprets imagery from onboard sensors. Two LiDAR sensors, facing forward and backward, work with a nose-mounted electro-optical camera to provide environmental information for navigation.

Remote command relies on a separate communications layer, with SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network carrying instructions between ground control stations and the aircraft. Airbus has tested the arrangement beyond conventional line of sight. “We’ve had flights that have been autonomously commanded from up to 70 miles away. All of that is stuff that’s happened in the last year,” Yochim said, adding that the aircraft can be commanded from a ground control station or a Samsung tablet.

Airbus based the MQ-72C on its UH-72B Lakota, which is derived from the H145, but cargo operations require further modifications. Front-mounted clamshell doors would create a passage through the cabin to speed loading and unloading. Airbus has completed initial design work and preliminary testing, but flight and wind tunnel tests remain outstanding. The company expects to install the doors around 2029 or 2030.

The Army’s interest extends beyond the aircraft itself. Major General David Gardner, head of the 101st Airborne Division, described the difficulty of moving heavy equipment hundreds of miles after long-distance air assaults involving future MV-75A tiltrotors. “We can put some things inside the helicopter, and we can put some things under a helicopter with a sling load. We’re not going to sling load something moving 250-ish knots for 500 miles. We’re not going to hang Humvees under that,” Gardner said.

Other contenders for autonomous military cargo delivery include the AW139, Black Hawk, Robinson R66 and Bell 505. The Army has not announced a procurement requirement, TechRadar reported, though its participation in the Airbus demonstration shows attention to autonomous cargo delivery.