CAMP GRAYLING, Mich., Oct. 30, 2025 — For the first time, a U.S. soldier—not a trained aviator—planned and executed real-world missions in military exercises with Lockheed Martin Sikorsky’s [NYSE: LMT] Optionally Piloted (OPV) Black Hawk helicopter, powered by MATRIX™ technology.

In partnership with the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Sikorsky fielded the OPV Black Hawk aircraft at Northern Strike 25-2 in August to demonstrate, in an operational environment, how an autonomous Black Hawk can expand mission reach and reduce risk to soldiers.

A U.S. Army National Guard Sergeant First Class, trained in less than an hour became the first soldier to independently plan, command and execute OPV Black Hawk missions using the system’s ha

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