Merlin, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRLN), an aerospace and defense technology company building the operating system of record for autonomous flight, today announced Merlin Pilot for Commercial Cargo, which aims to bring its aircraft-agnostic AI-powered autonomy core to commercial transport, starting with cargo aircraft.
Merlin Pilot for Commercial Cargo is part of Condor, Merlin’s new product family for large, multi-crew aircraft, which would apply the Merlin Pilot autonomy core across both civil and military platforms, from Part 25 aircraft to military transports such as the C-130J. Condor is the first product family Merlin is planning to bring to market utilizing the Merlin Pilot platform.
Merlin is working to bring next-generation technology to civil cargo as the global air freight market continues to expand. According to Boeing, the fleet of large cargo aircraft is projected to grow from roughly 2,340 today to nearly 3,900 over the next two decades, with more than 2,800 production and conversion deliveries forecast.
At the same time, cargo operators are looking beyond the traditional scale-restricted operating model where a number of pilots per aircraft manage all in-flight tasks and decision making.
The industry’s growing interest in autonomy reflects an evolution toward broader thinking about how aircraft are designed, operated, and scaled to meet demand over the long term.
Merlin Pilot works alongside pilots in real-time to extend crew capabilities and scale operations beyond the limits of the traditional model. Integrating into existing and new cargo aircraft, Merlin Pilot is designed to provide operators a practical pathway to autonomy.
Merlin shares opened Thursday 90 cents, or 11.5%, to $6.90.
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