Merlin, a US aerospace and defence technology company building autonomous flight systems, 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,” said the company in a press release. “Condor is the first product family Merlin is planning to bring to market utilizing the Merlin Pilot platform.
In response to a clarification request from Urban Air Mobility News/Unmanned Airspace the long-term goal is for aircraft to fly autonomously and technically this would be possible with the current technology. But Merlin’s near-term approach with the system is for it to work alongside human pilots to make flying safer and more efficient, said the company. “Essentially, the aircraft can fly autonomously with Merlin’s system but there is still a safety pilot in the cockpit.”
“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 forecasted,” continued the company. “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. From takeoff to touchdown, Merlin Pilot is being built to manage systems, monitor the environment, and handle communications, allowing flight crews to focus where human judgment matters most. Merlin believes bringing these capabilities to commercial cargo operations will enhance both safety and operational performance.”
The Merlin Pilot system has already logged hundreds of flights across multiple aircraft platforms, says the company, providing a strong foundation for its ongoing civil certification path. The same system is being tested under contract with the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), where it is advancing through a rigorous airworthiness process on the C-130J. The program achieved its latest milestone in March 2026 when Merlin successfully completed the Preliminary Design Review (PDR), advancing efforts toward eventual integration and flight testing.
“Merlin is already collaborating with World Star Aviation, a leading freighter lessor, and is developing additional relationships with key players in the commercial cargo conversion market. Together, these collaborations have the potential to establish a framework for integrating Merlin Pilot into the converted commercial cargo airframes that the global cargo market actually flies.”
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