Helicopter autopilot MATRIX™ Technology

for UAV

Product Overview
Sikorsky MATRIX™ technology is an aircraft autonomy system developed to enable optionally piloted and uncrewed flight for large rotorcraft and fixed-wing aircraft. The program focuses on improving flight safety, reliability and operational efficiency through integrated software and hardware components, enabling aircraft to be flown with or without onboard crew depending on mission requirements.

Key Advantages

• Executes complex missions in low-altitude, obstacle-rich or degraded/uncertain conditions
• Improves system reliability through multi-level contingency management
• Reduces lifecycle cost and operating cost per flight hour
• Platform-agnostic design supports multiple vehicles and mission tailoring

Demonstrations and Use Cases
MATRIX technology has been demonstrated in logistics/resupply missions using an optionally piloted Black Hawk helicopter to the U.S. Army (October 2022). The technology forms the core of DARPA’s ALIAS program and has enabled fully autonomous takeoff, flight and landing demonstrations, including the first autonomous Black Hawk® flight and side-by-side autonomous flights of Black Hawk helicopters.

MATRIX and SARA
Sikorsky Autonomy Research Aircraft (SARA), a modified S-76B flying laboratory, is used to test and advance MATRIX technology. SARA performs full-authority autonomous flight control including takeoff, route planning, obstacle avoidance, site selection and landing. Onboard sensors provide a real-time 3D understanding of the environment to support autonomous operations and obstacle-rich navigation.

Multimedia
The product page includes multimedia demonstrating MATRIX capabilities, including a video presentation of MATRIX technology and flight demonstrations.

Characteristics / Technical specifications

• Product name: MATRIX™ Technology
• Manufacturer / Brand: Sikorsky (a Lockheed Martin company)
• Program partnerships: DARPA (ALIAS program)
• Primary capabilities: optionally piloted/autonomous flight, full-authority flight control, obstacle avoidance, route planning, site selection, autonomous landing
• Platforms demonstrated: Black Hawk (S-70 / UH-60 variants), SARA (modified S-76B)
• Design features: platform-agnostic autonomy suite, multi-level contingency management, sensor-based 3D environment awareness
• Operational benefits: improved flight safety and reliability, reduced lifecycle and operating costs, mission tailoring across vehicles
• Document available: Matrix sell sheet (PDF)
• Notable demonstrations: optionally piloted Black Hawk resupply demonstration to U.S. Army (Oct 2022); integration and flight testing on UH-60MX experimental Black Hawk