Soon, pilotless Black Hawk aircraft that sees and flies on its own
By ANIWednesday, February 3, 2010
LONDON - Helicopter-maker Sikorsky is set to build pilotless Black Hawk aircraft.
After the unmanned drone, the aircraft is believed to be the next great aerial innovation for the US armed forces.
The helicopters could be flown by two, one or even no pilots, thereby increasing the number of journeys it could undertake and reducing the risk to US personnel.
According to Chris Van Buiten, director of Sikorsky Innovations, it could be used both “when the mission is really dull or really dangerous”.
However, the greatest challenge faced by Sikorsky engineers is transferring technologies currently used in Predator drones to Black Hawks that are 20 times heavier, reports the Telegraph.
Sikorsky intends to have a model of an unmanned Black Hawk ready this year and introduce it by 2015, at an estimated cost of 10.6 million pounds each.
Van Buiten added that change would not only be technical, but also cultural.
“Pilots are not going to give up that seat easily,” he added. (ANI)
