The United States is transforming Cold War-era Black Hawk helicopters into fully autonomous drones, a development defense experts believe could be significant in a potential conflict over the Taiwan Strait. The S-70UAS U-Hawk, based on the UH-60 Black Hawk, was unveiled last October at a major US military event.
Similarly, China’s People’s Liberation Army has been upgrading its older aircraft to operate as uncrewed drones. Both countries revealed comparable drone helicopter systems within a month of each other last year, highlighting a parallel approach to modernizing their aerial capabilities.
**Why this matters**
Converting legacy helicopters into drones allows both the US and China to extend the operational use of existing platforms while reducing risks to personnel. These autonomous systems could play a strategic role in surveillance, logistics, or combat missions in the Taiwan Strait, an area of increasing geopolitical tension. The development underscores the ongoing military competition between the two powers in the region.
Source: NewsData