US video shows Secretary Pete Hegseth remotely flying a UH-60 Black Hawk at DARPA, highlighting a leap toward autonomous military aviation.
A new video by the US Department of War reveals Secretary Pete Hegseth remotely piloting a UH-60 Black Hawk from a touchscreen display. The rare footage, released on November 14, 2025, offers a glimpse into next-generation military aviation trials, showing Hegseth guiding the aircraft through a live camera feed.
Officials say the demonstration, taking place inside the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency headquarters, marks a major step toward more flexible, autonomous, and remotely operated helicopter missions in contested or high-risk environments.Last week, a new autonomous electric VTOL aircraft for the US military completed its first flight, featuring a redesigned configuration built to carry heavier loads and fly much farther than current air taxis.Black Hawk autonomyThe demonstration unfolded at the DARPA, the Pentagon’s long-standing hub for high-risk, high-reward innovation. For this event, the UH-60 was outfitted with the Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System , a DARPA initiative developed in collaboration with Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin subsidiary. ALIAS adds advanced autonomous functions to existing helicopters, allowing them to fly with fewer—or even zero—personnel onboard. It integrates fly-by-wire controls, sensor fusion, machine learning, and automated mission planning. The NEWEST tech in Warfare! @SECWAR visited DARPA where he flew a Blackhawk remotely. pic.twitter.com/uMsUAt50Tf— Department of War 🇺🇸 November 15, 2025According to Army Recognition , the program’s roots date back to 2022, when an ALIAS-equipped UH-60A successfully conducted a fully autonomous flight with no pilots on board. That accomplishment proved the aircraft could independently take off, navigate, and land. Since then, DARPA and Sikorsky have enhanced the system to support remote human control through simplified operator interfaces that pair autonomy with teleoperation.A preview of these capabilities was made publicly available in October 2024 at the Association of the United States Army annual conference. There, Sikorsky demonstrated its MATRIX autonomy suite on a Black Hawk, showing the aircraft execute missions autonomously after receiving commands via a tablet-linked datalink. The helicopter then carried out complex flight tasks relying solely on onboard autonomy. The showcase underscored how rapidly autonomous aviation is evolving and highlighted how long-serving platforms can be upgraded into smart, self-directed aircraft.Pilotless flight provenThe demonstration stood out for one reason: a human operator directly controlled the helicopter from afar. Hegseth guided the UH-60 using a remote console that displayed real-time video and data streamed from the aircraft’s onboard sensors. Every maneuver was executed through this interface, offering a clear indication that remote helicopter operation has matured into a viable tactical capability.The UH-60 Black Hawk, introduced in the late 1970s to replace the UH-1 Huey, has remained the U.S. Army’s core utility helicopter for decades. With more than 2,000 in service across active-duty, Reserve, and National Guard units, it performs a wide range of missions—from air assault and medevac to resupply and special operations—and has proven itself repeatedly in conflict zones worldwide, according to AR. As modern air defenses and electronic warfare systems grow more sophisticated, flying crewed helicopters in contested airspace becomes increasingly dangerous. Remote-operated Black Hawks offer a path to conduct these missions while keeping crews out of harm’s way. Controlling aircraft from standoff distances could reshape logistics, reconnaissance, and support operations in environments where traditional flight is too risky.“With reduced workloads, pilots can focus on mission management instead of the mechanics. This unique combination of autonomy software and hardware will make flying both smarter and safer,” said Stuart Young, program manager in DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office, in a DARPA statement in 2022.According to AR, DARPA’s next phase involves pushing this technology toward military adoption, including field testing, doctrinal development, and cybersecurity hardening. After this latest demonstration, one thing is certain: the Black Hawk is evolving into a platform capable of flying uncrewed, guided entirely by operators far from the front lines.
ALIAS Autonomous DARPA Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Department Of War Pete Hegseth UH-60 Black Hawk US Army
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