Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

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Matt Thurber

Yesterday at the Verticon show in Atlanta, Robinson Helicopter president and CEO David Smith unveiled Robinson Unmanned, the company’s new business unit that includes its Ascent drones and uncrewed versions of the R44 and R66 helicopters. The new unit’s president is Ascent AeroSystems president Paul Fermo.
“[Robinson Unmanned] could easily be bigger than all of our heritage businesses combined,” Smith said. There is a need for defense products at commercial costs, he added, “and built by a sustainable business, not a VC-backed money-losing business. We stand alone in that we are the only ones that can build incredibly [fast] at aerospace quality and automotive scale.”
The U.S. needs this kind of capability, he explained. “We see this opportunity…that the next era is the era of both manned and unmanned in collaboration, unlocking missions that couldn’t have been done with either by themselves.” These missions include public safety, such as search and rescue, protecting large gatherings, finding missing children, and others. “All those are right in the sweet spot of what Robinson Unmanned can offer in collaboration with our manned aircraft. The same for defense logistics. There’s a key need across every branch, to resupply front lines or manage ship-to-ship support or ship-to-shore, and our aircraft are perfectly suited for that.”
While the military still needs heavy-lift rotorcraft, it also needs “dependable, attritable ones," Smith added, “where if there’s a loss of aircraft due to bad guys shooting at it or whatever, they just leave it. And they don’t have to send good people to try and extract technology out.”
In addition to Ascent AeroSystems drone products, Robinson Unmanned incorporates new versions of the R44 and R66 designed to fulfill those missions. The R44 Airtruck and Sprayhawk are equipped with Rotor Technologies’ RPX autonomy suite. The Airtruck is designed for cargo, resupply, and surveillance missions, while the Sprayhawk is for agricultural and environmental operations. The R66 Turbinetruck adopts Sikorsky’s Matrix autonomy system and features large clamshell front doors for loading cargo.
“Robinson is officially entering the ‘era of both,’” Smith said, “a fundamental shift where flight is no longer a choice between human intuition and machine precision, but the seamless integration of both. By folding the Rotor Technologies R44 remotely piloted solutions into our existing fleet of Ascent small and technology-agnostic, heavy-lift drones, we are creating a versatile ecosystem of certified, proven airframes capable of tackling any mission profile.
“Our goal isn’t just to build better helicopters; it’s to build smarter, safer VTOL solutions. By fusing human expertise with autonomous reliability, we are massively amplifying mission capability while significantly reducing operational risk. In environments where the danger is highest, our technology is at its strongest, ensuring that we aren’t just protecting the pilot, but redefining what’s possible.”

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Robinson Helicopter’s new business unit, called Robinson Unmanned, includes its Ascent heavy-lift drones and uncrewed versions of the R44 and R66 helicopters. 

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