Flights were largely autonomous, with the aircraft making its own decisions about how to fly itself so as to meet certain objectives, rather than relying on real-time human control.

March 2006 saw the completion of the Software Enabled Control program sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency(DARPA).

[6][7] The development program for the A160 began when DARPA awarded a 30-month technology demonstration contract to San Diego–based Frontier Systems in March 1998, owned by UAV pioneer Abe Karem.

[8] In June 1999, Frontier tested the autonomous flight control system with the Maverick-A, a modified Robinson R22.

[1][18] It is primarily because of these features that the Hummingbird can fly with less power - and thus use less fuel - than comparable conventional helicopters,[10] which only adjust blade pitch and keep the rotor at constant rpm.

[19][20][21][22][14] In August 2005, Frontier Systems, by then a Boeing subsidiary, received a $50 million contract from the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division "to assess the military utility and affordability of a long-range VTOL UAV employing a wide variety of adaptable payloads".

[15] In October 2007, DARPA awarded Boeing a $6.3 million contract to deliver an A160T aircraft and modified pod for the Autonomous Real-time Ground Ubiquitous Surveillance-Imaging System (ARGUS-IS) program.

On November 30, 2005, the aircraft successfully completed its first flight with a new 290 kW (390 hp) 6-cylinder gasoline-powered piston engine, hovering about the airfield for about half an hour.

On October 12 it flew for 12 hours while carrying a 500-pound payload, simulating a multi-sensor military reconnaissance mission.

[32][33] A Boeing investigation determined the incident was caused when sensor data stopped being updated to the flight computer: with the feedback loop for the control system effectively cut, the helicopter "departed controlled flight and impacted the ground at a near-vertical angle."

A week later, starting the night of May 14, the A160T demonstrated its un-refueled endurance capabilities with an 18.7-hour flight, landing with over 90 minutes of fuel still on board.

[36] Earlier, in May 2004, the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command awarded Syracuse Research Corp. a $13.3 million contract for the ultra high frequency, foliage penetrating, real-time moving target indicator/synthetic aperture radar for use in the A160.

In August 2009, the A160T was chosen by the US Marine Corps along with the Kaman K-MAX to demonstrate the ability to move 6,000 lb (2,722 kg) of cargo in less than 6 hours for three consecutive days.

[43] Two airframes were involved in tests of the ability of DARPA FORESTER foliage-penetrating radar to penetrate jungle cover.

The tests were stopped one week early when one aircraft crashed on September 4, 2010, at the Central Farm airfield in Cayo, Belize[44][45] as the Special Operations Command was turning over its A160s to the Army in 2011.

[46] A further crash caused by vibration occurred at Victorville on April 17, 2012, damaging the ARGUS sensor and the aircraft.