About a decade ago, I recall seeing some video of a Blackhawk on a range somewhere testing out the autonomous controls feature.
At the time, there were (monitoring) pilots in the cockpit (likely for the case of 'oops, didn't quite work as expected' and such like) so this "Look Ma, no pilots!" is new as of 2022, it seems.
News Flash: the USMC had operational KMAX doing up to 6,000 pound external load ops over a decade ago.
Originally Posted by Kaman blurb
The two helicopters, designated as CQ-24A, served in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom from 2011 to 2013, and exclusively flew unmanned missions. In the 33 months the unmanned K-MAX® was deployed to Afghanistan on combat resupply and logistical support missions, it moved over 4.5 million pounds of cargo throughout Afghanistan between forward operating bases and remote outposts. Operating exclusively during nighttime hours, these unmanned missions replaced the equivalent of 900 convoys and eliminated 46,000 hours of exposure to IEDs, direct fire, and other threats to troops on dangerous roads. The current unmanned system on the Marine CQ-24A aircraft will be replaced with new technology advancements.
This project is probably a bit more complex given the Blackhawk's more complicated flight control system.