In the ideal AACUS scenario, Dr. Cummings said a Marine “whips out some smartphone application, calls the helicopter.” The helicopter would take off autonomously, plot its own route, fly to the scene, select a landing zone and land itself, all with minimal intervention from an operator. The aircraft could then deliver cargo or remove a wounded Marine from the battlefield. “For the most part, it’s the aircraft talking to a novice user on the ground.”