Overview
- An H145 test helicopter flew in Grand Prairie, Texas under Shield AI’s Hivemind, which interfaced with Airbus’ Helionix.
- The aircraft performed automated takeoff, landing, and additional test maneuvers without pilot input under mission system control.
- Airbus says the validated autonomy will be incorporated into the MQ-72C, an unmanned UH-72 Lakota variant for the Marine Corps’ Aerial Logistics Connector.
- Integration was completed in under two months, highlighting Hivemind’s modular, platform-agnostic design aimed at reducing cost and schedule risk.
- Further flight demonstrations will scale autonomy toward uncrewed logistics in contested environments as the effort progresses within the DoD’s Middle Tier of Acquisition rapid prototyping pathway.