Airbus US Space & Defense and its partners have completed a fourth phase of autonomous flight testing on an H145 helicopter, marking the first time all systems developed by the team were integrated and operated together on a single aircraft.
The tests, conducted at Airbus facilities in Texas, focused on improving the aircraft’s perception capabilities to support autonomous operations.
During the flights, the system demonstrated the ability to assess landing zones, detect obstacles, and redirect to alternative sites without human input.
Integrated Systems and Partner Contributions
The test combined technologies from Shield AI, L3Harris Technologies, and Parry Labs into a single aircraft.
Shield AI provided its Hivemind autonomy software, which enabled the aircraft to operate without continuous human control.
L3Harris contributed a Modular Open Systems Architecture, enabling the integration of multiple partner technologies into a unified platform.
Parry Labs supplied edge computing and software infrastructure to support onboard perception processing and real-time decision-making.
Boosting Airborne Autonomy
Part of the Aerial Logistics Connector program, the effort focuses on developing autonomous aircraft for logistics missions in support of US military operations.
Under the broader objective of assessing how autonomous systems can support logistics in operational environments, the initiative provides prototype platforms for evaluation through a series of demonstrations and experiments.
Built on the UH-72 Lakota platform, the project is being developed under a rapid prototyping framework led by the US Navy’s aviation systems command.
