New technology could transform any military helicopter into a remote-controlled, pilotless war machine. Designed by Sikorsky, the kit combines autonomy software and sensors allowing pilots to man the craft or stay grounded to focus on a mission. The technology is currently being tested on a S-70 Black Hawk, which has shown to top speeds at 172 miles per hour and is set to take its first fully autonomous flight by 2020. The kit combines autonomy software and sensors, giving pilots the option to man the craft or stay grounded to focus on the mission. Sikorsky, a subsidiary of Lockeheed Martin, which specializes in global security and aerospace, aims to make this autonomous technology easily retrofit on any existing aircraft.

As helicopter flights go, this one was especially boring. We took off, hovered for a bit, and maneuvered around the airport. We flew to a spot about 10 miles away, did some turns and gentle banks, then came back and landed. I've been on more exciting ferris wheels, with views more inspiring than those of rural Connecticut. Still, the flight was impressive for at least one reason: The pilot controlling the 12,000-pound Sikorsky S-76 had never before operated a helicopter.

In science fiction and real life alike, there are plenty of horror stories where humans trust artificial intelligence too much. They range from letting the fictional SkyNet control our nuclear weapons to letting Patriots shoot down friendly planes or letting Tesla Autopilot crash into a truck. As conflict on earth, in space, and in cyberspace becomes increasingly fast-paced and complex, the Pentagon's Third Offset initiative is counting on artificial intelligence to help commanders, combatants, and analysts chart a course through chaos -- what we've dubbed the War Algorithm (click here for the full series). But if the software itself is too complex, too opaque, or too unpredictable for its users to understand, they'll just turn it off and do things manually. At least, they'll try: What worked for Luke Skywalker against the first Death Star probably won't work in real life.

In the early hours of January 11, 2000, US Coast Guard helicopter pilot Mark Ward responded to a distress call from a ship taking on water, caught in a Nor'easter off the North Carolina coast. Battling 70-mph winds and 30-foot seas, Ward struggled to keep the chopper steady as he and his crew pulled all five fishermen to safety. Ward recalls the mission as one of the most harrowing is the 22 years he spent as a search-and-rescue pilot. And now, he's got a gig ensuring his successors won't face the same dangers: He's the chief test pilot in Sikorsky's autonomous helicopter program. "Even a modest degree of autonomy, your workload goes way down and your stress and apprehension disappears," he says.

A young Marine reaches out for a hand-launched drone. In science fiction and real life alike, there are plenty of horror stories where humans trust artificial intelligence too much. They range from letting the fictional SkyNet control our nuclear weapons to letting Patriots shoot down friendly planes or letting Tesla Autopilot crash into a truck. As conflict on earth, in space, and in cyberspace becomes increasingly fast-paced and complex, the Pentagon's Third Offset initiative is counting on artificial intelligence to help commanders, combatants, and analysts chart a course through chaos -- what we've dubbed the War Algorithm (click here for the full series). But if the software itself is too complex, too opaque, or too unpredictable for its users to understand, they'll just turn it off and do things manually.

There's a reason Tesla and its competitors use the term "autopilot" for their semi-autonomous cars: Aviation is way ahead of the auto industry when it comes to making machines handle themselves. And yes, the very latest Airbus, Boeings, and F35 fighter jets can pull all sorts of tricks to help the pilot. But the vast majority of the planes in the sky, military and civilian, still rely on humans pilot to manipulate the joysticks and pedals that move their flaps and ailerons. Now, the US Department of Defense says it can make those primitive aircraft, built around cables and pulleys, ready for the age of autonomy--and a robotic arm is part of the answer. Autonomy will prove a crucial feature of 21st century air transportation and warfare, but it's not the easiest thing to add to the current fleet.

Most people have heard about self-driving cars, with companies from Google to Honda developing autonomous vehicles. But driverless technology could be going beyond cars, with the testing of a self-flying helicopter. A Sikorsky S-76 commercial helicopter has now successfully taken off and flown autonomously 30 miles, before landing itself safely. The helicopter in the trial was the Sikorsky S-76 model which used Sikorsky's MATRIX system The Sikorsky Autonomy Research Aircraft (SARA), used Sikorsky's MATRIX system. This is the same system that is use in the Optionally Piloted Black Hawk (OPBH) Demonstrator.

Most people have heard about self-driving cars, with companies from Google to Honda developing autonomous vehicles. But driverless technology could be going beyond cars, with the testing of a self-flying helicopter. A Sikorsky S-76 commercial helicopter has now successfully taken off and flown autonomously 30 miles, before landing itself safely. The helicopter in the trial was the Sikorsky S-76 model which used Sikorsky's MATRIX system The Sikorsky Autonomy Research Aircraft (SARA), used Sikorsky's MATRIX system. This is the same system that is use in the Optionally Piloted Black Hawk (OPBH) Demonstrator.

Most people have heard about self-driving cars, with companies from Google to Honda developing autonomous vehicles. But driverless technology could be going beyond cars, with the testing of a self-flying helicopter. A Sikorsky S-76 commercial helicopter has now successfully taken off and flown autonomously 30 miles, before landing itself safely. The helicopter in the trial was the Sikorsky S-76 model which used Sikorsky's MATRIX system The Sikorsky Autonomy Research Aircraft (SARA), used Sikorsky's MATRIX system. This is the same system that is use in the Optionally Piloted Black Hawk (OPBH) Demonstrator.