Sikorsky showed a prototype of a cargo drone based on the Black Hawk helicopter

The American company Sikorsky has unveiled a prototype of its new S-70UAS U-Hawk cargo drone based on the UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter. It was shown at the AUSA 2025 exhibition, writes Defence Blog.

The new aircraft does not have a cockpit, but instead has a sliding nose and a cargo ramp. At the same time, the interior space is 25% larger than in the UH-60L Black Hawk.

The version shown at the exhibition is designed to carry missiles, small vehicles, modular containers or groups of drones. The UAV can also be equipped with additional fuel tanks.

In addition, the new product can carry cargo on an external suspension. Thus, the drone can transport up to four tons. The UAV is able to fly more than 1,600 nautical miles (almost 3,000 km) on a single refueling or hover over one point for up to 14 hours without refueling.

"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," said Sikorsky vice president and general manager Rich Benton.

A tablet is used to control the drone, and there is also a MATRIX autopilot system on board, which creates a flight plan based on onboard cameras, sensors, and algorithms for navigation without direct pilot intervention.

The system can also work with unmanned ground vehicles. During the AUSA event, the company demonstrated a scenario in which the U-Hawk landed and then evacuated an HDT Hunter Wolf 6×6 unmanned vehicle using the front loading ramp.

Saab previously unveiled a helicopter drone in Poland that can reach speeds of up to 140 km/h. The drone is already in production for customers in Europe, North America and Asia. It is also being tested by the Spanish Navy.