Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) gave a second chance to ROBOpilot. The pilot that can fly an aircraft took skies at Dugway Proving Ground.

In order to turn a manned aircraft into an unmanned one, AFRL replaced the human pilot with a robot who interacts with the aircraft controls the same way a human would.

ROBOpilot requires no permanent modifications. All operators need to do is remove the pilots' seats and replace them with ROBOpilot. And if users determine that they want to return the aircraft to a manned mission, ROBOpilot is simply removed and the pilots' seats are reinstalled.

This is ROBOpilot’s second flight. The first flight took place in August 2019. The ROBOpilot flew well but caused damage during a landing. The bug is solved and it is installed in a new Cessna 206. On Sept. 24, the system returned to the skies for a 2.2-hour test flight over Utah.