If a remote outpost or a distant patrol needs aerial resupply, a human pilot now has to fly cargo in, despite hostile fire, bad weather and worse terrain. So why not have a robot do the dirty and dangerous work?
The legendary Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopter, otherwise known as the Huey, has done it all. It has served as military transport, helicopter gunship, medical evacuation, search and rescue, special operations, and antisubmarine warfare. Pretty much anything a helicopter can be asked to do, the Huey has done.
But now, is the Huey to become a drone?
That’s quite a sixtieth birthday present for the Huey, which made its first flight in 1956. More than a helicopter, the Huey is a cultural icon, the most famous symbol of the Vietnam War. But even beyond Vietnam, the Huey was a prolific aircraft. It ranks as the most widely produced of all Western helicopters. Between 1956 and the 1980s, almost twelve thousand Hueys were built, plus another twelve thousand Bell 204s and 205s, the civilian version of the Huey.
Now unmanned aircraft manufacturer Aurora Flight Sciences has a plan for the Huey to essentially fly itself as an autonomous robot by 2018.
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http://www.scout.com/military/warrior/story/1730858-classic-huey-helicopters-become-attack-drones