Sikorsky, a division of Lockheed Martin, and Robinson Helicopter Company have officially introduced the R66 TURBINETRUCK, a new unmanned cargo aircraft designed to bridge the gap between small drones and heavy-lift logistics. The aircraft represents the first major product of a collaboration that pairs Robinson’s popular and economical R66 airframe with Sikorsky’s advanced MATRIX autonomy technology.
The TURBINETRUCK is engineered to operate in environments where a human pilot is either impractical or at risk. By removing the cockpit and crew stations, the aircraft opens up significant cargo space, featuring a reinforced floor and a nose-mounted clamshell door for rapid loading of palletized supplies. This design makes it a prime candidate for military contested logistics, disaster relief operations, and remote commercial resupply missions.
This new helicopter marks the 21st platform to be equipped with the MATRIX system, which has already logged over 1,000 flight hours across a diverse range of aircraft, from small tactical drones to massive strategic airlifters. The technology allows the helicopter to operate autonomously from takeoff to landing. Operators simply input mission goals via a tablet, and the system’s onboard cameras, sensors, and algorithms manage navigation and obstacle avoidance without human intervention.
Leadership from both companies emphasized the strategic importance of the vehicle. Rich Benton, Vice President and General Manager of Sikorsky, positioned the R66 as a complementary asset to their larger S-70 UAS U-Hawk. He views the two aircraft as “bookends” capable of serving a full spectrum of customer needs, from defense to commercial sectors. Meanwhile, Robinson CEO David Smith highlighted the TURBINETRUCK’s role in expanding the company’s legacy, noting that the airframe’s flight-proven maturity is now optimized for the future of scalable autonomy. The result, he stated, is an affordable and attritable solution designed specifically for getting critical assets into the field reliably, without a pilot on board.
