Honeywell, Near Earth Autonomy Test Pilot-Free Helicopter For Faster, Safer Marine Supply

Honeywell HON and Near Earth Autonomy announced on Tuesday that they have completed the first autonomous test flight of a Leonardo AW139 helicopter in support of the U.S. Marine Corps Aerial Logistics Connector (ALC) program.

The flight demonstrates the feasibility of uncrewed, autonomous aircraft operating in contested environments without an onboard pilot or remote operator.

The test flight on Honeywell’s AW139 took place in Phoenix, Arizona, in May and marks a critical step in efforts to deliver scalable, autonomous logistics support to the United States Marine Corps (USMC), the company said in a press release.

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For the first time, key autopilot modes of the AW139 were controlled directly by Near Earth’s onboard autonomy software, without pilot input, showcasing precise flight control and autonomous decision-making.

Bob Buddecke, president of Electronic Solutions at Honeywell Aerospace Technologies, emphasized showcasing how existing aircraft can be adapted with trusted avionics to support the next generation of defense logistics.

The testing underscores growing geopolitical tensions, exacerbated by conflicts such as those in Russia-Ukraine and India-Pakistan and, most recently, Israel’s attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure.

The ALC program, managed under a Naval Aviation Systems Consortium Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) with Near Earth Autonomy as a prime performer, aims to develop and deploy autonomous aerial logistics systems that reduce personnel risk and increase supply operations’ speed and scale.

Future testing will expand autonomy capabilities, including automated obstacle avoidance, and integrate them into military logistics workflows.

Price Action: HON stock was trading lower by 0.03% to $224.00 in Monday’s after-hours session.

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