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Advanced / Transformational Technology

Airbus Flight Tests Unmanned Helicopter With Shield AI’s Autonomy Pilot

By Cal Biesecker

Tuesday, August 19th, 2025

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Airbus Flight Tests Unmanned Helicopter With Shield AI’s Autonomy Pilot

Airbus unmanned H145 helicopter during autonomous flight test. Photo: Shield AI

Airbus Group’s U.S. defense business recently conducted the first flight test of an unmanned H145 helicopter using an autonomy pilot software from Shield AI in support of a Marine Corps aerial logistics prototyping program. The H145 flight in Grand Prairie, Texas, was under control of Shield AI’s Hivemind autonomy software that was integrated with Airbus’ Helionix avionics suite to provide mission control of the aircraft. The software conducted automatic takeoff and landing, and completed other test points to demonstrate control…

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