UH-60 Black Hawk takes flight at Fort Campbell and no one was on board, not even a pilot

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — Officials say a helicopter flew unmanned around Fort Campbell in what is the Army’s first automated flight of an empty Black Hawk. Engineers told reporters Tuesday that the 14,000-pound helicopter successfully navigated around the post on the Kentucky-Tennessee border as if it was downtown Manhattan. 

WPLN-FM in Nashville, Tennessee, reports the UH-60 aircraft was retrofitted with technology developed by the Defense Department’s research arm. 

The flight was the first time the system known as ALIAS flew completely by itself. The system is being tested with 14 different military aircraft. 

The 101st Airborne Division and 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment are based at Fort Campbell.

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