The US is converting Cold War-era helicopters into drones, a move defence experts say could play a “critical role” in any conflict with Beijing over the Taiwan Strait.

The PLA has also been retrofitting outdated aircraft to act as uncrewed drones, with both militaries unveiling similar systems within a month of each other last year.

The S-70UAS U-Hawk, a fully autonomous helicopter based on the UH-60 Black Hawk, was first showcased last October at an annual American military event, where it was pitched for high-risk cargo resupply and tactical missions.

It was one of the key products introduced at this week’s Singapore Airshow by Sikorsky, a US helicopter maker and subsidiary of aerospace giant Lockheed Martin.

Frank Crisafulli, director of global pursuits at Sikorsky and a former Marine Corps helicopter pilot, said the driver for U-Hawk demand in the Asia-Pacific could be seen “geopolitically” – from the “perception of what the threat is in the region”.

The UH-60 Black Hawk is a medium-lift military utility helicopter, first designed by Sikorsky in the 1970s for the US Army.