Honeywell and Near Earth Autonomy (Near Earth) have been selected by the U.S. Army to develop and field an optionally piloted contested logistics solution by retrofitting UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters with advanced autonomy kits.
This effort, funded by the Army’s Program Executive Office, Aviation (PEO Aviation), is a collaboration between Near Earth and Honeywell aimed at transforming existing aircraft into uncrewed, high-tempo logistics platforms.
Central to the program is a modular retrofit kit that enables continuous, uncrewed operations without reliance on onboard crew, remote pilots, or persistent data links. This approach minimizes personnel risk while maximizing operational tempo and logistics throughput.
The initiative establishes a scalable, repeatable method for upgrading a range of rotary-wing platforms. This avoids lengthy acquisition timelines and unlocks new capabilities from legacy aircraft. While the UH-60L is the initial focus, the system’s architecture is designed for fleet-wide adaptability.
Honeywell is working alongside Near Earth to deliver an autonomy solution that is affordable, scalable, and certifiable for future missions. Drawing on its established avionics technologies, including flight decks, Compact Fly-by-Wire systems, and navigation solutions, Honeywell provides mission-critical systems suitable for both retrofit applications and future aircraft. These technologies meet current operational demands while supporting a broader transition to autonomous flight.
Near Earth’s deterministic autonomy architecture, Captain, ensures mission assurance in complex and degraded environments. It enables safe navigation and hazard avoidance independently of crew input, remote control, or uninterrupted communications, an essential feature for GPS- and comms-denied scenarios. Development follows a Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA), ensuring cost-efficiency, modularity, and streamlined future upgrades.
Matt Milas, President, Defense & Space, Honeywell Aerospace Technologies, stated, “Our avionics provides a modular, certifiable foundation that aligns with both today’s operational tempo and tomorrow’s autonomy goals. Whether for piloted, optionally piloted, or fully autonomous aircraft, our systems scale to meet evolving military needs with a certifiable foundation.”
Sanjiv Singh, CEO of Near Earth, added, “This program is a significant step forward for Army logistics and autonomy. We’re proud to bring our proven helicopter autonomy experience to bear and excited to see it operationalized at scale to support soldiers in the field.”
The Army will partner with Near Earth to develop new operational procedures for autonomous logistics, conducting a series of flight tests that will lead to a mature, mission-ready system. This capability will enhance the Army’s ability to operate in contested, complex theaters with greater speed, scalability, and safety.
