After the reveal of Sikorsky's pilotless Black Hawk, European rival Leonardo just flew its new uncrewed helicopter design

"The British Royal Navy on Friday said "the UK's first truly autonomous full-size helicopter," the Proteus, completed its maiden flight. It said that "British aviation history has been made" and that it is "one of the world's first full-sized autonomous helicopters." The Proteus, rather than having a crew in the cockpit or cabin, has sensors and computer systems "driven by cutting-edge software." Those allow the helicopter to "understand and process its environment, make decisions, and act accordingly," the Royal Navy said."

"A Royal Navy spokesperson told Business Insider that the new design is "a one-off prototype/demonstrator," explaining that "the Navy and Leonardo will use it for trials and experimentation, but it's not a production-line machine for everyday usage." The navy said in its announcement that Proteus "will serve as a testbed for future hybrid air wings." It described the helicopter as a step toward having uncrewed aircraft operate alongside crewed platforms."

Proteus completed a maiden flight as the UK's first truly autonomous full-size helicopter and one of the world's first full-sized autonomous helicopters. The helicopter replaces a human crew with sensors and computer systems driven by cutting-edge software that allow it to understand and process its environment, make decisions, and act accordingly. The design is a one-off prototype demonstrator to be used for trials and experimentation rather than production-line everyday use. Proteus will serve as a testbed for future hybrid air wings and aims to enable uncrewed aircraft to operate alongside crewed platforms. Proteus eclipses existing Royal Navy drones in size, complexity and autonomy. Competitors include Sikorsky's autonomous U-Hawk concept.

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