Sikorsky and Robinson Helicopter Company are aiming to redefine cargo delivery and resupply with the R66 TURBINETRUCK, a new autonomous helicopter built for a wide range of missions.
The sleek chopper features a modular design that lets operators update mission software and reconfigure the aircraft for different tasks, incorporating technologies developed for the S-70UAS U-Hawk.
The platform gains a larger cargo fuselage, a dedicated cargo floor, and a nose-mounted clamshell door for faster pallet loading, thanks to the absence of a cockpit and crew stations.
It supports internal and external cargo transport and can handle missions in contested environments.
“We’ve taken years of flight-proven maturity, and together we have optimized it for the future of autonomy,” said David Smith, chief executive officer at Robinson Helicopter Company.
“The R66 TURBINETRUCK offers an affordable and attractive custom cargo architecture designed for one thing: getting critical assets into the field autonomously and reliably.”
Operator-Guided Autonomy
Central to its operation is the MATRIX autonomy system, which allows the helicopter to complete missions with minimal human intervention.
Operators input mission objectives via a tablet, and the system automatically generates a flight plan using cameras, sensors, and onboard algorithms.
Validated across platforms from small unmanned drones to strategic airlift aircraft, MATRIX has already accumulated over 1,000 flight hours of operational data.
“With every new platform we welcome into the MATRIX, we widen the network of uncrewed systems to serve a variety of civil and military missions,” said Rich Benton, vice president and general manager at Sikorsky.
“Sikorsky’s MATRIX autonomy suite is rapidly becoming the industry standard for safe, reliable, and repeatable autonomy for those missions.”
