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https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/volcanos/ai-reveals-hidden-ring-fault-that-is-unleashing-earthquakes-at-italys-campi-flegrei-volcano
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adw9038
AI reveals hidden 'ring fault' that is unleashing earthquakes at Italy's Campi Flegrei volcano
October 13, 2025
An artificial intelligence (AI) model has revealed never-before-seen geological structures at Italy's Campi Flegrei volcano, including a clear "ring fault" that could unleash magnitude 5 earthquakes.
So far in 2025, Campi Flegrei has produced five earthquakes above magnitude 4, and the volcano has been showing signs of unrest since 2005.
But most of the earthquakes triggered in the region are going undetected, according to a new study that used AI to pinpoint tens of thousands of seismic events that have gone under the radar over the past few years.
"We've known that this is a risky place for a long time," study co-author William Ellsworth, a professor emeritus of geophysics at Stanford University, said in a statement. "Now we're seeing for the first time the geologic structures that are responsible."
Over the past 40,000 years, Campi Flegrei has produced two of the largest eruptions in Europe, and evidence suggests the volcano's earlier history was just as explosive.
Scientists have been recording unrest at Campi Flegrei since the 1950s, but monitoring efforts increased in the 1980s after a swarm of 16,000 earthquakes prompted the evacuation of 40,000 residents.
To investigate modern threats from Campi Flegrei, Ellsworth and his colleagues developed an AI tool capable of identifying earthquakes that previous methods couldn't pick out.
Traditionally, seismologists identify earthquakes by analyzing seismograms, which are graphs with wiggly lines that represent shaking in the ground over time.
Researchers look for a sudden increase in the wiggles' size, and this process is known as "phase picking," said study co-author Greg Beroza, a professor of geophysics at Stanford University.
"That's a simple and often effective means of picking a phase, but it doesn't 'learn' how to do it better so that it improves with time," Beroza told Live Science in an email.
"In our approach, we train a machine learning model to pick phases. We base it on the collection of millions of examples where experts have done this already, and our method is designed to learn how to do this more effectively."
The team chose to have their tool analyze Campi Flegrei before other volcanoes for several reasons, including there being an urgent need to better understand this volcano's behavior, Beroza said.
More than 360,000 people live inside Campi Flegrei's 7-mile-long (11 kilometers) caldera, and roughly 1.5 million people reside in the wider area.
Unrest over the past 20 years ticked up in 2018 — and while there are currently no signs of an eruption, a particularly violent or shallow earthquake could present a huge danger to people as well as damage buildings, according to the statement.
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The results from the AI tool, published Sept. 4 in the journal Science, reveal that three-quarters of earthquakes at Campi Flegrei between 2022 and mid-2025 went undetected.
While traditional methods documented 12,000 earthquakes in this period, AI shows the number was closer to 54,000.
By mapping the location of these earthquakes, the researchers discovered faults — cracks in Earth's crust that can grind against each other and cause earthquakes — that previous methods hadn't highlighted.
Notably, the team found two faults converging beneath Pozzuoli, a town west of Naples where evacuations took place in the 1980s. The location of these faults suggests "an earthquake in the magnitude 5 range is not out of the question," Ellsworth said.
This wasn't the only striking finding. Pozzuoli experienced uplift in the 1980s, and the same is happening again now, with the ground beneath the town rising by about 4 inches (10 centimeters) each year.
It turns out, the area of uplift is encircled by several faults, forming a thin, well-marked "ring fault" that extends offshore, according to the statement.
"Our Italian colleagues were surprised to see the ring so clearly," study lead author Xing Tan, a doctoral student in Beroza's lab, said in the statement.
"They expected to see something in the south where previous data had revealed scattered seismicity, but in the north, they'd never seen it so clearly."
Seismic activity along the ring fault could help predict changes in the system, as well as hint at the magnitudes of future earthquakes, Beroza said. But it doesn't provide new information about the likelihood or timing of Campi Flegrei's next eruption.
"All the analyzed seismicity from 2022 to mid-2025 is shallow, at depths above 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) and does not indicate any migration of magma towards the surface," Beroza said.
The team's results for Campi Flegrei indicate that the AI tool could be useful for other volcanoes, too.
Places that have recently seen an uptick in seismic activity, such as Santorini in Greece, could benefit from a clearer understanding of the underlying geology, the researchers said in the statement.
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Russia ready for Ukraine settlement – Kremlin
14 Oct, 2025 12:33
Moscow remains open to a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict but hostilities will continue for as long as Kiev continues to stall negotiations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
He was responding to French President Emmanuel Macron, who recently warned in a post on X that Russia would “have to pay the price” if it refused to demonstrate a readiness to come to the negotiating table.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Peskov stressed that Moscow has always preferred a diplomatic solution to the crisis, but noted that Kiev, with the backing of its Western allies, continues to reject all of Russia’s proposals.
“Russia is ready for a peaceful settlement,” Peskov said, emphasizing that Moscow’s military campaign continues “due to the lack of alternatives.”
He asserted that Russia will ultimately accomplish its stated objectives and safeguard its national security interests.
His comments come ahead of an expected meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, reportedly scheduled for Friday in Washington.
Peskov said Russia appreciates Trump’s ongoing diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict peacefully and hopes that “the US influence and the diplomatic skills of President Trump’s envoys will help encourage the Ukrainian side to be more proactive and more prepared for the peace process.”
Russia has consistently reiterated its readiness for peace talks with Ukraine. Both sides were close to reaching an agreement in Istanbul in early 2022, but, according to Moscow, Kiev withdrew after its Western backers encouraged it to continue fighting.
Russian officials have since maintained that neither Kiev nor its European backers are genuinely interested in ending the hostilities, accusing them of stalling negotiations by presenting ever-shifting conditions and disregarding its proposals.
https://www.rt.com/russia/626423-peskov-russia-ready-for-settlement/
Over 700 km from Ukraine, drones strike Russian substation feeding Gazprom and railway
14/10/2025
Ukrainian drones reportedly struck the Arzamasskaya substation in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast overnight on 14 October, damaging critical energy infrastructure more than 700 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
A fire was recorded by satellite data, and the regional governor confirmed short power outages.
This comes amid the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war, as Kyiv continues its strategic deep-strike campaign targeting Russian oil refineries, military installations, and defense-industrial facilities both inside Russia and in the occupied territories.
The campaign aims to degrade Russia’s military logistics and export revenues. Given the Russian army’s heavy reliance on rail transport, railway infrastructure has also become a key target.
Ukrainian drones reportedly hit major Russian energy node overnight
Militarnyi reported that Ukrainian drones attacked the Arzamasskaya 500 kV substation in Lesogorsk, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, more than 700 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
The strike took place overnight on 13–14 October, and satellite data from NASA FIRMS confirmed a fire in the area. The attack caused short-term power outages across several parts of southern Nizhny Novgorod Oblast.
According to Russian news Telegram channel Astra, the substation has a rated capacity of 1502 MVA and is one of the most important energy nodes in the region.
It provides electricity to more than 200,000 residents and powers industrial and military infrastructure, including Gazprom compressor stations and Russian Railways traction substations.
Russian officials confirm damage, but as always claim debris caused outage
Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Governor Gleb Nikitin acknowledged that a drone attack had occurred but downplayed the scale.
“At night, a UAV attack on the territory of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast was repelled. As a result of falling debris, one energy facility was damaged, which led to a temporary power outage.
Electricity supply has now been restored. Specialists are working on site,” Nikitin wrote. He claimed there were no casualties.
The claim that all damage from Ukrainian drone attacks is caused by “falling drone debris” has become a recurring narrative in official Russian reports — often repeated even when multiple videos from the scene clearly show direct drone strikes.
Local sources report direct drone hits
Ukrainian Telegram channel Supernova+ shared a video and geolocation data, reporting that “the Arzamasskaya-500 substation was attacked at night, two transformers destroyed.”
A screenshot from an unnamed source report cited by Supernova+ said,
“From 2 to 3 a.m., five drones hit the target in Lesohorsk, striking the electrical substation.”
Strike follows previous drone attacks on occupied Crimea
The previous night, drones from the Security Service of Ukraine and Special Operations Forces struck Russian energy infrastructure in occupied Crimea.
Targets included the Simferopol 330 kV and Kafa 220 kV substations, as well as the Maritime Oil Terminal in Feodosiia.
https://euromaidanpress.com/2025/10/14/over-700-km-from-ukraine-drones-strike-russian-substation-feeding-gazprom-and-railway/
Russia targets Ukraine with glide bombs, drones ahead of Zelensky meeting with Trump
10/14/25 10:31 AM ET
The Russian military targeted Ukraine’s second-largest city with glide bombs and drones in an overnight assault, days ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meeting with President Trump at the White House.
Russia struck a hospital in Kharkiv, located in the country’s northeast region, and injuring 57 people, Zelensky said Tuesday morning.
“An utterly terrorist, cynical attack on a place where lives are saved. Energy infrastructure in the region was also hit,” the Ukrainian leader wrote on in a post on X.
Kremlin’s military attacks hit energy facilities in the Sumy region, while in the Kirovohrad region, civilian infrastructure was damaged, including the railway.
Zelensky said Ukraine’s allies can help tamp down Russia’s attacks by providing more air defense systems, including the Patriot air defense system, the National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAMS), a medium-range defense system, SAMP/T, a French-Italian mobile air and missile defense system and “other vital systems.”
“We count on action from the United States, Europe, the G7, and all partners who have these systems and can provide them to help protect our people,” Zelensky wrote.
“Ukraine needs sufficient air defense capabilities to shield its skies from missiles, drones and glide bombs so that Russia’s aerial terror becomes meaningless.”
In total, Russia launched 96 attack drones and Ukraine said it shot down 69 of them overnight, Ukraine’s Air Force said.
Zelensky’s call for more support comes as military aid to Kyiv has fallen by 43 percent in July and August, when compared to the first half of 2025, according to a new report by Germany’s Kiel Institute.
Military allocations from European countries fell by 57 percent compared to the first six months of the year, even with the contributions to NATO’s Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative being included, according to the Tuesday report from the institution that tracks Ukraine aid.
“As military support for Ukraine increasingly depends on new weapons procurement—which often takes months or even years to implement—the NATO PURL initiative is an important vehicle to provide Ukraine with ready-to-use weapons from US stockpiles,” Christoph Trebesch, head of the Ukraine Support Tracker and research director at the Kiel Institute, said in a statement.
“At the same time, the decline in military aid in July and August is surprising. Despite the NATO PURL initiative, Europe is scaling back its overall military support,” Trebesch added. “What will be crucial now is how the figures evolve in the autumn.”
Zelensky is set to meet with Trump on Friday in Washington, where the two leaders are set to discuss military aid to Kyiv, including the U.S. potential dispatch of Tomahawk missiles.
Over the weekend, the president said he might send Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, a suggestion that was blasted by Russia’s former President Dmitry Medvedev, who claimed the decision would “end badly” for everyone, including Trump.
https://thehill.com/policy/international/5554447-russian-military-targets-ukraine-city/
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4047239-russian-forces-intensified-their-attacks-with-kamikaze-drones-and-airstrikes-on-populated-areas-voloshyn.html
THE DRONES ARE COMING Prepare for Russian kamikaze drones to swarm skies above Britain, gov warned as Iranian weapon is unveiled in Parliament
Updated: 19:32, 14 Oct 2025
BRITAIN must be prepared for Russia to swarm its skies with deadly Iranian kamikaze drones, MPs and officials warn.
The stark warning was issued today as a terrifying Shahed-136 weapon downed in Ukraine was unveiled in Parliament.
It comes just weeks after Russian drones violated Polish airspace and after repeated sightings of unidentified drones in Nato’s skies.
Relatively cheap, lethal, and widespread, the drone has become Russia’s weapon of choice against Ukraine.
One Shahed-136 costs up to £38,000 – a huge contrast to the cost of a 9M728 Iskander K cruise missile at up to £1.5million.
Since the start of the year, Russia has fired more than 38,000 Shahed drones to wreak havoc in Ukraine – causing devastation on the battlefield and raining hell on civilian targets.
With a maximum speed of 180km/h and a range of up to 2,500km, the drones explode when smashing into targets.
But officials today warned drones like these could be headed for the UK’s airspace.
MP Tom Tugendhat, senior advisor to United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) and former Minister of State for Security, told The Sun: “That’s exactly what we were preparing for and I’m sure that the current government are continuing to prepare for.
“The reality is these weapon systems are not just targeting Ukraine, they’re not just targeting Poland. They’re being built to intimidate us.
“Mohammad-Javad Larijani, who’s one of the principal spokesmen for the Ayatollah of Iran, has made it clear that one of the intentions of developing these weapon systems is to threaten Europe.
“We need to make sure that our country is secure and our country is safe.”
Last month, Nato allies sprang into action after drones from Russia violated Poland’s airspace – an incident Mr Tugendhat believes was no accident.
Meanwhile, Denmark, Norway, France and Germany are among the Nato countries where rogue drones have been spotted – sparking massive security concerns.
Radek Sikorski, foreign minister and deputy prime minister of Poland, said it exposed a gap in Europe’s defences – and a further incident could have more disastrous consequences.
He told The Sun: “In the operation in the Polish skies, some of the Russian drones were detected and shot down by F-35s.
“It is not the most economical way of dealing with such a threat. “And if they did to us what they’re doing every week to Ukraine and launched hundreds of these things, we would be pretty soon out of sight of them.
“So Putin has exposed a gap in our defences which need cheaper and effective ways of protecting our skies. “We need to act on this war as soon as – and Ukraine is providing us invaluable experience.
“We need their experience and that technology in dealing with this stuff.”
The stark warning was issued as top officials showcased an Iranian-made Shahed-136 drone launched by Russia in Speaker’s House at the House of Commons.
This weapon, acquired from Ukraine by UANI, has never before been showcased in Europe. Officials warn the destructive weapon is the “true face of the Ayatollah” – and serves as a striking warning of the growing threat to the continent’s security.
The drones, branded the modern-day equivalent of the notorious World War Two era Nazi V-1 flying bomb, otherwise known as the “Doodlebug”, have been used by Russia against Ukraine since October 2022 – and mass production started within months.
And the drones prove a nightmare for enemies, with a low production cost lending itself to mass production in a bid to overwhelm anti-missile defence systems.
Stretched Ukraine has employed high-end interceptors in a bid to counter attacks as thousands of drones rain down each month.
Tehran initially supplied around 6,000 Shahed to Moscow before beginning a tech transfer programme so Russia could mass produce the drones itself.
Iran has been one of Vladimir Putin’s main backers since he illegally ordered his troops into Ukraine more than three years ago.
As well as supplying the Kremlin, the warped Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has long bolstered the munitions of terror proxies including Hamas and Hezbollah in the Middle East.
But one of the Ayatollah’s mouthpieces, Larijani, warned in July that its weapons could soon be used against the West.
He said: “Europeans can no longer move about comfortably in their own countries. “It’s entirely possible that in the near future, five drones could strike a European city.”
Larijani’s claim came off the back of repeated menacing threats against the UK from furious Russia.
Sir Liam Fox and fellow ex-defence chief Penny Mordant both previously told The Sun more must be done to strengthen the UK’s defences to diminish the threat posed by tyrant Putin.
https://www.thesun.ie/news/15963884/russian-drones-britain-iranian-weapon-parliament/
EU pushes to expand drone wall across all member states — Reuters
Tue, October 14, 2025 - 15:35
The European Commission is proposing to expand the drone wall initiative on Europe's eastern flank to protect the entire continent after some countries said they felt abandoned, Reuters reports.
According to several unnamed EU officials, the proposal for a broader European Drone Defense Initiative will be included in the defense readiness roadmap to be presented by the European Commission on Thursday.
European Commission representatives said the idea is to counter future intrusions by creating a network of sensors, electronic jamming systems, and weapons from the Baltic states to the Black Sea.
Eastern European countries have welcomed the proposal, but southern and western European countries have said it neglects the drone threats in their part of the continent.
European Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius also hinted at the changes, using both the old and new names for the project during a speech at a defense conference in Brussels.
"We propose the European drone wall… er… European Drone Defense Initiative, an anti-drone network to protect all Europe, and other defence flagship projects," he said.
Drone wall
Earlier, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently proposed creating a drone wall to protect against Russian drones.
The European Union says that EU members should quickly expand their drone defense systems in light of recent airspace violations in several countries. Therefore, the EU supported this initiative.
Recently, seven EU countries, Ukraine, and the European Commission held talks on creating a drone wall. In addition, Slovak President Peter Pellegrini also said that Slovakia would do everything necessary to become part of the drone wall project.
The initiative to create a so-called drone wall to protect the EU's eastern flank has received political support, but at the same time has faced criticism regarding the feasibility, cost, and name of the project.
https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/ukrainian-assault-units-advance-up-to-1-6-1760443810.html
Israel drone strike in Gaza despite ceasefire: Several casualties reported
14 October 2025, 21:43 pm
Israeli troops shot and killed at least nine Palestinians in the first major violation of a US-brokered ceasefire, foreign news agencies reported.
The incident occurred as Palestinians were trying to return to their homes in northern Gaza City and southern Khan Younis.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, 44 bodies were brought to hospitals in the past day, while 29 injured people are receiving medical treatment.Buy vitamins and supplements
The ministry said that 38 bodies were recovered from the rubble, while many people are still buried under the rubble and destroyed buildings. Rescue teams are facing difficulties in accessing the affected areas.
According to the ministry, the total number of deaths in Gaza since October 7, 2023 has reached 67,913 and the number of injured has reached 170,134.
According to eyewitnesses, Israeli air and ground operations continued in various areas until late at night, causing panic among civilians. An Israeli drone attack was also reported in Khan Younis.
Meanwhile, Israel has announced that the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will remain closed for the time being, preventing aid supplies from reaching Gaza despite the ceasefire.
Israeli officials said the decision was made because Hamas had not handed over the bodies of Israeli prisoners, but did not say when the crossing would be reopened, sources reported.
Hamas says it could take time to recover the bodies because some areas are buried under rubble.
Palestinians had hoped the Rafah crossing would reopen on Wednesday after a ceasefire, but that did not happen.
Earlier, the UN agency UNRWA also said that Israel was blocking aid supplies to Gaza.
https://www.theopinion.com.pk/israel-drone-strike-in-gaza-despite-ceasefire-several-casualties-reported/
Dutch military spot suspicious drones during NATO drills in Poland
14 October, 14:48
The Dutch Ministry of Defence has reported that its troops taking part in military exercises in Poland have detected several suspicious drones.
Authorities have launched an investigation to determine their origin.
Source: NOS, a Dutch public broadcaster, as reported by European Pravda
Details: In addition to the appearance of unidentified drones, communication between soldiers had also been disrupted.
The troops were not equipped with anti-drone systems at the time. The equipment was later delivered from the Netherlands following the incidents.
Quote from Dutch Brigadier General Frank Grandia: "There was no immediate danger. We are quite far from the Russian border. We realised that right away and quickly adapted."
More details: The Dutch Air Mobile Brigade has been in Poland in recent weeks for NATO's Falcon Autumn drills – large-scale air exercises involving Poland, the United States and other allies.
The drones appeared unexpectedly as troops were setting up camp at an airfield. It remains unclear who was behind the drones or the communication interference.
Quote: "We know there are parties very interested in what we do who monitor the exercises."
More details: The training was adjusted but not cancelled, and the drones eventually departed.
Suspicious drone activity has also been reported in Denmark, Norway and Germany, where several airports in Denmark and Norway were closed for several hours.
Estonia has also recently faced a separate airspace violation involving three Russian fighter jets. The Russian Defence Ministry claimed that their MiGs "had not violated" Estonian airspace.
Background:
Recent incidents involving drones and Russian aircraft violating NATO airspace have prompted discussions among alliance members about a stronger response to Moscow's increasingly provocative actions, including possible military countermeasures.
Meanwhile, Bavaria's regional government has approved a draft law allowing state police to shoot down drones if deemed necessary.
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2025/10/14/8002700/
https://nltimes.nl/2025/10/14/unidentified-drones-disrupted-communications-dutch-military-training-poland
At least seven people killed in RSF drone strikes in Sudan
October 14, 2025
At least seven people were killed on Tuesday in drone strikes carried out by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan, local authorities and medics said.
The local administration in the northern city of Al-Dabbah said five people were killed and several others injured when an RSF drone struck college buildings in the city.
Mohamed Saber Kashkash, the head of the city’s security committee, accused the RSF of continuing to “target civilian facilities.”
A doctor and his son were also killed in another drone attack in East Nile State, east of Khartoum, the Sudan Shields Forces, an army-aligned group, said in a statement.
Deadly war
The attack came hours after the Sudan Doctors Network, a local medical group, accused the RSF of killing another doctor and injuring his two sons in a drone strike on their home in the Sharg En Nile district in Khartoum.
The new fatalities brought the number of medical personnel killed in attacks by the rebel group since the outbreak of Sudan’s war in April 2023 to 233, according to the network’s data.
The group called on the international community and human rights organisations to hold the RSF accountable for its ongoing “crimes” against civilians in Sudan.
Fighting between Sudan’s army and the RSF since April 2023 has killed more than 20,000 people and displaced about 15 million, according to the UN and local authorities, while a study by US universities estimates the death toll at around 130,000.
https://www.trtafrika.com/english/article/38b9e5d4f30c
Lockheed converts Black Hawk into pilotless cargo drone with 1,840-mile range
Updated: Oct 14, 2025 10:52 AM EST
Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, has unveiled a fully autonomous version of its iconic Black Hawk helicopter, converting a UH-60L into what it calls the S-70UAS U-Hawk, an uncrewed, multi-mission aircraft built in less than a year.
The U-Hawk prototype, revealed at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) exposition on October 13, marks a major step toward transforming one of the US military’s most proven utility helicopters into a next-generation unmanned system.
According to Sikorsky, the company replaced the UH-60L’s cockpit with actuated clamshell doors and a rear ramp, allowing roll-on and roll-off cargo operations.
The aircraft’s traditional mechanical flight controls were swapped for a third-generation, low-cost fly-by-wire system powered by MATRIX autonomy technology, the same system tested in earlier optionally piloted Black Hawk demonstrations.
Sikorsky said the aircraft has 25 percent more cargo space than the standard Black Hawk and can operate without a crew on board.
“The company is innovating a 21st-century solution by converting UH-60L Black Hawks into a fully autonomous utility platform,” said Rich Benton, Sikorsky’s vice president and general manager.
“We developed this prototype from concept to reality in under a year, and the modifications can be replicated at scale quickly and affordably.
The U-Hawk continues the Black Hawk legacy as the world’s premier utility aircraft, opening the door to new capabilities as a UAS.”
Expanded mission capabilities
The U-Hawk has a new fuselage design that increases usable cabin space by 25% compared to the standard UH-60L Black Hawk. This change allows for greater flexibility in its operations by removing the cockpit and crew systems.
A larger cabin now allows the aircraft to transport oversized or long cargo, including missile pods and uncrewed ground vehicles, with the help of its new clamshell doors and loading ramp.
According to Sikorsky, the U-Hawk can accommodate up to four Joint Modular Intermodal Containers, double the capacity of the legacy Black Hawk.
It can also carry specialized payloads such as a six-rocket HIMARS pod or two Naval Strike Missiles, enabling new strike and resupply missions that previously required dedicated aircraft.
The expanded interior can be configured to roll drones or robotic vehicles directly on and off the aircraft, supporting seamless integration with ground-based autonomous systems such as the HDT Hunter Wolf 6×6 uncrewed vehicle.
Added space can also be used for internal fuel tanks, extending the helicopter’s endurance and range for long-duration missions.
Sikorsky said the U-Hawk could self-deploy across more than 1,600 nautical miles (1,840 miles) or loiter for up to 14 hours without refueling, a major leap for utility-class unmanned rotorcraft.
The U-Hawk can lift 9,000 pounds using its cargo hook, making it suitable for Black Hawk missions like sling-load transport and tactical resupply.
These changes make the U-Hawk a flexible tool for logistics, strike, and reconnaissance operations.
Sikorsky combines the strength of the Black Hawk with MATRIX flight technology to develop a utility aircraft that can fly autonomously in risky areas. This approach helps lower costs, reduces the need for crew, and simplifies operations.
Fully autonomous operations
Instead of pilots, U-Hawk missions are commanded by operators using a tablet interface that controls the aircraft from start-up to shutdown.
At the press of a button, the U-Hawk automatically opens its doors and lowers its ramp for loading. Once cargo is secured, the system reverses the sequence to prepare for flight.
Operators input mission goals on the tablet, and the MATRIX autonomy software generates and executes a flight plan, using onboard sensors and algorithms to navigate safely and avoid obstacles.
“The U-Hawk offers a cost-effective utility UAS by leveraging commonality with the existing UH-60 fleet,” said Igor Cherepinsky, director of Sikorsky Innovations.
“Its uncrewed nature reduces both operating and maintenance costs. We focused on efficiencies in retrofitting—designing and manufacturing new flight computers, actuators, and airframe modifications that will carry over into our future UAS family.”
U-Hawk program is led by Sikorsky Innovations, the company’s rapid prototyping arm. Sikorsky said the first flight of the fully autonomous U-Hawk is expected in 2026. It represents a broader Lockheed Martin effort to blend autonomy and crewed aviation.
The company has previously demonstrated that it optionally piloted Black Hawks under DARPA’s ALIAS program, where the helicopter flew and landed autonomously with no crew on board.
https://interestingengineering.com/military/black-hawk-into-pilotless-cargo-drone