Sikorsky has debuted its new U-Hawk prototype cargo drone, a fully autonomous utility aircraft developed from the UH-60L Black Hawk, at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) 2025 exposition.
The system eliminates the cockpit, expands internal cargo space, and is designed to conduct long-range, uncrewed missions using tablet-based operator control.
According to the company, the S-70UAS U-Hawk provides 25 percent more internal cargo space than the original UH-60 design. Engineers replaced the traditional pilot cabin with a hinged clamshell nose and rearward-lowering cargo ramp, creating a forward-loading system for oversized payloads. The aircraft displayed at AUSA was designed to accept missiles, small vehicles, modular containers, or drone swarms, and can also carry internal fuel tanks for extended range.
“Sikorsky is innovating a 21st century solution by converting UH‑60L Black Hawks into a fully autonomous utility platform,” said Rich Benton, Sikorsky vice president and general manager. “We developed this prototype from concept to reality in under a year, and the modifications made to transform this crewed Black Hawk into a multi-mission payload UAS can be replicated at scale quickly and affordably. The U-Hawk continues the Black Hawk legacy of being the world’s premier utility aircraft and opens the door to new capabilities as a UAS.”
The U-Hawk is operated entirely by remote command using a tablet. Once cargo is loaded via the automatic ramp and door system, the operator inputs the mission objectives. Sikorsky says its MATRIX autonomy system generates the flight plan, relying on onboard cameras, sensors, and algorithms to navigate the aircraft without direct pilot input.
Structural conversion and autonomous integration were carried out by Sikorsky Innovations, the company’s advanced prototyping group. The first flight of the U-Hawk is planned for 2026.
In a statement, Igor Cherepinsky, director of Sikorsky Innovations, said: “The U‑Hawk offers a cost‑effective utility UAS by leveraging commonality with the existing UH‑60 fleet, and its uncrewed nature reduces both operating and maintenance costs. We focused on efficiencies in the retrofit by designing and manufacturing vehicle management computers, actuation components and airframe modifications. We will incorporate those efficiencies into future modifications and manufacturing for our family of UAS products.”
By removing all cockpit-related systems and internal seating, Sikorsky says the U-Hawk is able to support oversized cargo up to the platform’s existing maximum gross weight. The drone variant retains the UH-60’s side-loading capability and can still lift 9,000 pounds externally with its cargo hook.
The aircraft is designed to support a broad mission set, from transporting up to four Joint Modular Intermodal Containers to carrying a full HIMARS rocket pod or launching multiple small reconnaissance or loitering munitions. According to Sikorsky, it can self-deploy over 1,600 nautical miles or remain on station for up to 14 hours without refueling.
The system is also built for integration with unmanned ground vehicles. During the AUSA event, Sikorsky demonstrated a scenario in which a U-Hawk deployed and recovered an HDT Hunter Wolf 6×6 UGV via drive-on/drive-off operations using the forward cargo ramp.
As noted by the company, U-Hawk aims to provide a scalable, autonomous transport solution that minimizes personnel exposure and operating costs while maximizing logistics flexibility.