A U.S. soldier was put in charge of planning and executing missions with the Optionally Piloted Black Hawk helicopter instead of a trained aviator.

He became the first to independently plan, command and execute one of the missions using the system’s handheld tablet.

To learn to fly a military helicopter is to take a master class in multitasking.You need both hands and both feet to control the aircraft while keeping a close eye on the horizon and your altitude. If ...