Merlin · autonomous cargo aircraft
Merlin Pilot
Cessna Caravan and C-130J programmes
An aircraft-agnostic autopilot that makes flight decisions with machine learning backed by hard-coded fallback checks. Merlin is starting with reduced-crew flying, so a pilot stays on board.
- Price
- —not sold; in certification and military development
- Autonomy
- SupervisedHow it runs
- Driverless
- Not yetSafety driver on board
- Fleet
- —See details below
- Speed
- —Not published
- Range
- —Not published
Why it matters
Merlin says its Caravan programme took a machine-learning flight system to Stage of Involvement 3 with New Zealand's aviation regulator (August 2026).
Real-world use
Caravan certification work in New Zealand (SOI 1 May 2023, SOI 3 August 2026); C-130J autonomy programme with US Special Operations Command passed critical design review on 4 June 2026 (Merlin).
Timeline
- First shown
- 2023-05
- Released
- Not yet
Maker
MerlinCompanyHow it drives
Fleet and city figures move fast; each carries its date and who reported it.
- Driverless status
- Safety driver on board
- Where it runs
- Kerikeri, New Zealand; Smithfield, Rhode Island; Bedford, Massachusetts test sites
- Fleet
- not published
- Rides, miles or loads
- hundreds of hours of flight (Merlin, 2026)
Public attention
How much public attention Merlin Pilot (Cessna Caravan and C-130J programmes) gets, from open data.
- No Wikipedia article of its own yet
- No recent press stories listed yet
Measures how much people read and write about a robot, not how good it is. Measured 2026-10-13; same method for every robot. How it is measured
What’s inside
No component details published yet.
- Movement
- Other movement
- How it runs
- Supervised. Works by itself while a person watches and steps in.
From the maker
Merlin Pilot (Cessna Caravan and C-130J programmes) is the only vehicle from Merlin in the atlas.
Made, sold and where
No production or sales figures published yet.
- Price
- Not publishednot sold; in certification and military development
- How to get one
- No official buying page found
Sources
Figures come from the maker. Every link below backs something on this page.
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