Hanneke Weitering is a writer and editor with AIN covering advanced air mobility and new flight technologies. She became an aviation journalist and joined the AIN team in the summer of 2022 after reporting on spaceflight and astronomy for six years at Space.com. After earning a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, she moved to New York City to pursue a master’s degree in science, health, and environmental reporting at New York University&#039;s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. She is now based in Seattle near Boeing Field and spends her free time exploring nature in the Pacific Northwest.

Science & Technology Editor

The autonomous piloting start-up&nbsp;Merlin Labs has raised $105 million in its latest funding round and secured a partnership with the U.S. Air Force, the company announced on July 13.
Including this latest Series B funding round, the Boston-based company has now raised&nbsp;$130 million to develop its “drop-in autonomy kit,” which can convert various types of piloted, legacy aircraft to be fully autonomous. The company’s investors include Snowpoint Ventures, Baillie Gifford, and Google Ventures.
Under its newly announced partnership with the U.S. Air Force, Merlin Labs will produce an autonomous flight system for the C-130J Super Hercules, a military transport aircraft built by Lockheed Martin and the most-used cargo craft in the Air Force’s fleet.&nbsp;
“Mirroring its civilian applications, Merlin will help the Air Force enhance safety and operational flexibility,” Merlin officials wrote in Wednesday’s announcement. “Merlin's advanced hardware and software technologies allow for increased safety and the possibility of crew reductions in the face of a global shortage of pilots,” the company added.
Merlin Labs aims to convert multiple aircraft in the public and private sectors under FAA supplemental type certificates. In September 2021, the company announced that the FAA and the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand had approved the certification basis for its planned supplemental type certificate for digital copilot-assisted, one-pilot cargo carriers. This represented a small but significant step in its “crawl, walk, run” approach to eventual certification for fully autonomous flights.
Shortly after it emerged from “stealth mode” in 2021, the company announced a partnership <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2021-12-08/ameriflight-will-convert-freighter-fleet-autonomous-flight">with the U.S. cargo carrier Ameriflight</a> to convert its fleet to Merlin’s autonomous system, an effort to curb the worsening commercial pilot shortage. Merlin is also working with Virginia-based Dynamic Aviation <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2021-05-26/merlin-labs-partners-special-missions-operator-convert-king-airs-autonomous">to convert up to 55 Textron King Air</a> twin turboprops for autonomous flight.&nbsp;
Merlin Labs has told FutureFlight that the converted aircraft will always be supervised by human pilots on the ground and that all flight testing is conducted with a pilot on board.&nbsp;However, the company&nbsp;has said&nbsp;that it will achieve&nbsp;greater efficiency&nbsp;from autonomous operations after aviation regulators give clearance for the monitoring pilots to supervise multiple aircraft simultaneously.&nbsp;
“Our approach is to build high levels of redundant onboard autonomy to ensure that even if the link to a remote pilot is lost, that aircraft can still safely operate,” a company spokesman said in an earlier statement. “This differs from a remotely piloted approach where the human operator is in charge of performing many critical functions, such as talking to air traffic controllers and manipulating control surfaces, instead of simply monitoring the autonomy.”
The company has said that it expects to receive its first supplemental type certification for an autonomous flight-converted aircraft by the end of 2023.

Hanneke Weitering

Merlin Labs will develop an autonomous flight system for the U.S. Air Force's C-130J Super Hercules. (Credit: USAF)

Merlin Labs Raises $105 Million, Partners with U.S. Air Force for Autonomous Flights

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

In this article

Merlin

AIN Products

SUBSCRIPTIONS

RESOURCES

ABOUT AIN