AVWEB reports, “The U.S. Army announced Friday that it has taken delivery of an H-60 Black Hawk helicopter configured for both autonomous and piloted flight, beginning a new phase of testing focused on optionally piloted aircraft. The platform incorporates autonomy technology developed through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) program, which has been under development for more than a decade. According to the Army, the system is designed as a retrofit kit that can be installed on existing aircraft to automate flight functions and reduce pilot workload.”
Full Story (AVWEB)
Tag: U.S. Army
U.S. Army Demonstrates Counter-UAS Capability Using AH-64E Apache
Aerotime reports, “The US Army’s 12th Combat Aviation Brigade (12th CAB) has used the AH-64E Apache in a counter-drone role during an exercise in Germany, in what the unit described as a first for the European theater. In a release published on March 19, 2026, the brigade said that soldiers from the 2-159th Attack Battalion had used the helicopter’s existing weapons to engage and destroy drones in air-to-air engagements during Operation Skyfall at the Grafenwoehr Training Area.”
Full Story (Aerotime)
Army’s First HADES ISR Jet Set for Spring Flight Tests, SNC Confirms
Defense Daily reports, “The Army’s first prototype aircraft for the High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) program will begin flight testing this spring, lead integrator Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) confirmed to Defense Daily. SNC noted the first Bombardier Global 6500 jet outfitted for the HADES program will then be delivered to the Army this fall to support operational testing.”
Full Story (Defense Daily)
U.S. Army Apache Pilots to Train with Augmented Reality for First Time
Flying Magazine reports, “For the first time, U.S. military helicopter pilots will train using augmented reality (AR) technology that can recreate real-world scenarios within a digital space. On Monday, augmented reality flight training systems developer Red 6 said it has integrated its Advanced Tactical Augmented Reality Systems (ATARS) on Boeing’s AH64E Apache Crewstation Advanced Technology Testbed (CATT). That marks the company’s first integration with a U.S. Army platform and the first-ever integration of such a system on a rotorcraft platform, Red 6 said.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)
U.S. Army Selects AeroVironment’s Freedom Eagle-1 as New Counter-Drone Interceptor
The War Zone reports, “The U.S. Army has picked AeroVironment to supply a new anti-air interceptor, primarily to provide an additional layer of defense against longer-range one-way attack drones and other similarly-sized uncrewed aerial systems (UAS). Designed to be relatively low-cost and easy to produce, the Freedom Eagle-1(FE-1) missile could also be employed against other aerial threats, including subsonic cruise missiles, in certain circumstances.”
Full Story (The War Zone)
Video
Freedom Eagle (FE-1).
BlueHalo; YouTube
U.S. Army Receives First Bombardier Global 6500 for its HADES Program
Aviation International News reports, “Bombardier Defense is celebrating the delivery of the first Global 6500 to the U.S. Army for the High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) aerial military intelligence program. … This aircraft is the first prototype airframe for the HADES program and is ‘the beginning of the next stage of the program to integrate systems,’ according to Bombardier.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)