By Dean Murray

A regular military member has flown a remote-control Black Hawk helicopter after less than an hour's training.

A U.S. Army National Guard Sergeant First Class became the first to independently plan, command and execute one of the OPV's (Optionally Piloted Vehicle) missions using the system’s handheld tablet.

He directed the payload to a location 70 nautical miles away and commanded multiple precision airborne drops, marking the first time OPV Black Hawk operated fully under the control of a soldier, instead of a trained test pilot or engineer.

The test mission was carried out at this year's Northern Strike , the United States Department of Defense's largest annual joint military readiness exercise. A standby pilot was in the helicopter as a safety measure and to co

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