US Marines Take A Step Towards The Future

The US military is one step closer to making autonomous combat craft a reality, with the successful testing of an autonomous helicopter.

The UH-1H helicopter is capable of flying itself, without a pilot, with or without passengers on board - given the right conditions. 

This test helicopter embarked on a mission in which it navigated from one point to another, delivering supplies ordered on a tablet - like the military equivalent of an Uber!

The highly-advanced piloting system also works with vehicles which are capable vertical take-offs and landings, meaning it can be used for a variety of aircraft other than the UH-1H.  

Lt. Gen. Robert Walsh, commanding general, Marine Corps Combat Development Command, spoke about the importance of such developments:

“We’ve developed this great capability ahead of requirements and it’s up to us to determine how to use it.

“The young marines today have grown up in a tech-savvy society, which is an advantage. We’ve got to keep pushing and moving this technology forward.”

The aircraft is equipped with additional hardware and software including LiDAR, whereby the vehicle navigates by using pulses of laser light to detect obstructions, and camera sensors for obstacle avoidance and route-planning.

The systems will now be handed over to the U.S. Marine Corps for additional experiments, as they progress towards the future of military engineering.