The U.S. Marine Corps took another step towards autonomous flight last month with test flights of a Huey helicopter modified to fly by itself. The tests validated a kit developed by Aurora Flight Sciences that can enable almost any helicopter to fly autonomously, performing repetitive, boring but necessary missions while pilots get some much-needed downtime.

The tests, which took place in late November, involved a hardware and software kit known as Autonomous Aerial Cargo/Utility System (AACUS) which includes both hardware and software and can be installed on any rotary wing aircraft. The Marines currently fly three different helicopters: the CH-53E Super Stallion heavy transport helicopter, the AH-1Z Cobra attack helicopter, and the UH-1Y utility/light attack helicopter.

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The hardware side of the AACUS kit involves a LiDAR sensor for ranging and ground mapping, and cameras for obstacle avoidance and route planning. According to USNI News, the hardware used were commercial, off-the-rack components easily sourced in the civilian market. The software, including flight algorithms, was developed by Aurora.

The autonomous tests consisted of three simulated missions, in which the unmanned UH-1H “Huey,” given guidance by Marine infantrymen with just “mere hours” of instruction by Aurora engineers, flew supplies to a remote outpost. The Marines interacted with the Huey via a tablet and laptop computer.

AACUS was funded by the Office of Naval Research. Aurora, having provided the kit will now exit the program, with the Marines taking over and folding it into the Sea Dragon 2025 series of experiments. The Sea Dragon 2025 project is meant to take a hard look at new technologies that the Marine Corps could use in future fights against adversaries on the same technological level as the United States.

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This isn’t the first time the Marines have tested autonomous helicopters. The Marine Corps flew two K-Max autonomous cargo helicopters in Afghanistan from 2011 to 2013, often running six missions totaling 33,000 pounds of cargo a night. Over three years, the two drones delivered 4.5 million pounds of cargo, helping keep trucks off the road in places where IEDs threatened truck crews. The K-Max Afghanistan trials, although enormously successful, pointed to another problem, however. One drone crashed in 2013 when the helicopter pilot monitoring the mission, expecting a 15 knot headwind, instead ran into a tailwind. The pilot, not actually in the aircraft and unable to sense the physical changes in real time, reacted too late to the conditions and the autonomous helicopter crashed.

Autonomous helicopters could be used in areas where the enemy air defense risk is extremely high, conducting the mission without risking pilots. Automation would also be useful in helping the Marines get the most out of their helicopters, having them fly low-risk cargo transport missions scheduled while the pilots are resting. For now the Pentagon is limiting autonomous aircraft missions to cargo transport only, insisting that only manned aircraft should carry personnel.

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