The flights were conducted at the Pittsburgh Air National Guard Base under a waiver from the Air Force. Merlin has contracts to develop autonomous flight systems for several Air Force platforms and the 1960s-era tankers are the first in line.

• READ MORE: U.S. Air Force, Merlin Partner for KC-135 Autonomous Flight Demo

Merlin said the first flights gathered data on how to design and fine-tune the robotic controls.

“Autonomous capabilities are essential to increasing operational capacity for the USAF and enhancing national security, emphasizing the importance of these data collection flights to properly inform the integration design ahead of flight demonstrations,” Merlin CEO Matt George said in a news release. “Over the last few months, we’ve achieved important milestones on the KC-135 that allow us to strengthen the relationship between the pilot and the aircraft as well as enhance safety and operational efficiency aboard a vital military aircraft.”

This article first appeared on AVweb.com.

The post Merlin Tests Autonomous Controls on KC-135 appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Over the course of two flights on May 15 and 16 at MacDill Air Force Base (KMCF) in Florida, engineers gathered data that will inform the development of the company’s autonomous flight system, Merlin Pilot. Intended to reduce the workload of pilots amid the ongoing pilot shortage—but not replace them, at least in the short term—the technology has also drawn the attention of government agencies, including the Air Force.

Merlin engineers observed Air Force pilots as they performed various tasks and maneuvers. The goal of the campaign was to identify areas where automation could be most useful for safety, efficiency, and cost savings. Teams gathered data on pilot priorities, for example, to implement automation in a way that could allow pilots to focus on the most critical tasks.

“The data collected during these flights is critical to our phased approach to autonomy, starting with reduced crew operations, and to materially evolving our advanced automation systems,” said Matt George, CEO of Merlin. “Being able to observe multiple aerial refueling flights and see exactly how pilots are focused on critical tasks like take-off, landing, and communications in operational military use cases has given us valuable insight.”

Physical assessments, observations, and crew interviews were conducted to determine how certain KC-135 operations could be integrated into the autonomous system.

The data will further be used to support a contract between Merlin, the Air Force, Air Mobility Command (AMC), and Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) to design, integrate, test, and perform in-flight demos of Merlin Pilot on the aerial refueling tanker. The Air Force previously enlisted Merlin to explore reduced crew capabilities for the Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules and is looking to automate other aircraft, such as the KC-46A Pegasus and UH-60A Blackhawk.

The FAA has also shown interest in Merlin, awarding it a $1 million contract for automated cargo network flight trials in Alaska, which the company completed successfully in July. Other aircraft that have been equipped with Merlin Pilot include the Beechcraft King Air, de Havilland Twin Otter, Cessna Caravan, Long-EZ, and Cozy Mark IV.

Merlin is seeking supplemental type certification from the FAA and has already obtained a Part 135 air operator certificate from New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority, which covers air operations for helicopters and small airplanes.

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The post Merlin Developing Autonomous Flight Tech With Air Force Pilot Input appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The company on Wednesday announced it completed the build of its Certification System Bench, a flight test simulator designed to speed its path to an STC. The simulator contains the company’s certifiable software and hardware components and is located at its Boston headquarters.

An STC is issued by a regulator when a company intends to modify an aerospace product from its initial, type-certified design. The approval authorizes the modification and how it will affect the original product.

In the case of Merlin, the company is seeking an STC from New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for Merlin Pilot, its platform-agnostic, takeoff-to-touchdown autonomy system for fixed-wing aircraft. Pilot uses an array of sensors to understand the state of the aircraft and its surroundings. The firm is working toward concurrent validation with the FAA through a Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement between it and the CAA.

However, Merlin’s goal, at least in the short term, is not to remove the pilot from the cockpit entirely. Rather, it intends to supplement pilot workloads to combat the ongoing pilot shortage.

“In many ways, the Certification System Bench acts as a testing ‘funnel,’” said Sherif Ali, chief engineer for Merlin Pilot. “It allows us to test hundreds of cases with speed and ease, selecting edge cases to take to in-flight testing. As a result, we’re able to reduce the use of our test aircraft and keep it for limited cases only.”

The Certification System Bench will allow Merlin to test its automation systems from its headquarters, with no limitations due to factors such as weather, maintenance schedules, or pilot availability. The company says it provides a one-to-one replica of its in-flight technology, with three screens representing the pilot deck, instrument panels, and primary flight display.

The technology is equipped with the same software and hardware components found within the Pilot system. Further, cameras installed on the Bench allow Merlin’s global team to access it and perform testing remotely.

“With pilots on the Certification System Bench, we are able to learn multitudes about human factors while gaining accreditation towards our STC,” said Ali. “No other company in the sector has put more resources towards this type of testing simulator.”

According to Merlin, the Certification System Bench represents a “significant investment” for the firm—costing millions of dollars more than its actual aircraft—but one that will be worthwhile.

The company says ground tests on the Certification System Bench are accredited by aviation regulators, allowing those evaluations to contribute toward STC approval. Further, the technology should allow testing to become more routine. Technicians won’t need to worry about heavy rain or malfunctioning aircraft parts.

“Ensuring the Merlin Pilot is robust, safe, and reliable is our top priority, which underscores this [Certification] System Bench build as a huge milestone in Merlin’s certification journey,” said Matt George, founder and CEO of Merlin. “It took the team six months to design, vet solutions for, and build the Certification System Bench to extremely stringent specifications.”

Merlin is taking a “crawl-walk-run” approach to certification and operations, beginning with testing with the FAA and CAA, from which it recently obtained Part 135 operator approval. The next step will be to fly small aircraft with reduced crews, relying mostly on Pilot but augmented by a safety pilot. After that, the company intends to remove crews from small aircraft and reduce crews on larger aircraft.

Merlin received the first certification basis for an autonomous flight system from the CAA in 2023. Last year, Pilot also became the first autonomy system to secure U.S. National Airspace System integration and FAA validation, following agency-contracted uncrewed cargo network trials in Alaska, the company says.

Pilot so far has been integrated on five different aircraft types, including Dynamic Aviation’s fleet of Beechcraft King Airs and several aircraft from Ameriflight, the largest Part 135 cargo airline in the U.S.

Merlin further has a longstanding relationship with the U.S. Air Force, through which it has modified several military transport aircraft. In 2022, the company tested single-pilot crews aboard a Lockheed Martin C130J Hercules and conducted an autonomous refueling mission using a KC-46A Pegasus with no copilot.

In February, the partners extended their collaboration to demonstrate Pilot on a KC-135 Stratotanker. Merlin expects in-flight trials to begin next year, starting with a series of basic air refueling operations.

However, Merlin is not the only autonomous flight systems partner working with the Air Force. The department also has relationships with providers such as Xwing, Reliable Robotics, and rotorcraft manufacturer Sikorsky, which is developing an autonomy suite called Matrix.

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The post Merlin Advances Toward Autonomous Flight Tech STC with Simulator appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Boston-based Merlin Labs—the maker of a platform-agnostic, takeoff-to-touchdown autonomy system for fixed-wing aircraft—on Wednesday announced it obtained Part 135 certification from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of New Zealand for future air freight operations in the country. The regulator’s Part 135 covers air operations for helicopters and small airplanes.

Certification of the Merlin’s flagship Merlin Pilot system follows U.S. military airworthiness approvals for fellow automated flight systems providers Xwing and Reliable Robotics, handed out by the U.S. Air Force.

“Achieving an organizational Part 135 certification gives us the opportunity to work with a forward-thinking regulator as well as leverage New Zealand as a sandbox for our current and future products,” said Matt George, founder and CEO of Merlin. “This milestone enables us to continue progressing our technical maturity, ultimately validating the safety and operational effectiveness of the Merlin Pilot for [CAA] Part 23 certification and beyond.”

Merlin’s Part 135 certificate will allow it to perform critical data collection flights on certain regional freight routes following CAA product certification of Merlin Pilot. The company achieved a state of involvement (SOI) 1 milestone for the system in May, putting it on “a viable path to certification and commercial operation,” it said.

According to Merlin, data collected on those freight routes will be essential for “future development decisions that will be implemented globally.” The findings will also support Merlin Pilot certification with both the CAA and FAA, it said.

The company’s Part 135 certification will further allow it to leverage its dedicated test facility in Kerikeri, New Zealand, opened in May, for current and future products once they’re certified.

Merlin said it has made notable progress on its organizational and product certification since its Project Specific Certification Plan (PSCP) was approved by the CAA—in partnership with the FAA—in 2021. At the time, it claimed to be the first company to reach an agreement with a regulator on an approach to certification for autonomous aircraft tech.

Since then, Merlin was contracted by the FAA to perform what it said was the first air cargo network trials flown by a non-human pilot, which it completed successfully in Alaska in July.

The company also has a relationship with the U.S. Air Force. Last week, the two agreed to conduct in-flight demonstrations of Merlin Pilot aboard a KC-135 Stratotanker, which is used by the military for aerial refueling. Those trials will begin next year. The exercise is a follow-up to a 2022 Air Force contract to test the system on a single-pilot Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules, which is normally commanded by two pilots.

Through innovation arm AFWERX, the Air Force is also collaborating with autonomous flight systems providers Xwing and Reliable Robotics. Both firms were approved to fly in unrestricted airspace in the past 30 days as the military and FAA begin to ramp up their pursuit of autonomy.

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The post Merlin Labs Nabs Part 135 Air Operator Certification in New Zealand appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Under the deal announced Tuesday, Merlin will design, integrate, test, and demonstrate aspects of its Merlin Pilot autonomous flight technology on the aerial refueling tanker. In-flight demonstrations will take place in the next year, starting with a series of basic air refueling operations that reduce aircrew workload and eventually proceeding to operations with reduced crew numbers, according to the company.

• READ MORE: FAA Awards Contract for Automated Cargo Network Flight Trials in Alaska

“Integrating onto one of the most abundant and important military aircraft in the [Air Force’s] fleet allows Merlin to materially evolve our advanced automation systems, which includes enabling autonomous close formation flying for the KC-135,” said Matt George, CEO and co-founder of Merlin. “Our work with Air Mobility Command will build meaningful operating data, serving as an important step to maturing functional autonomy across the force.” 

The partnership represents the latest exploration of operating military aircraft with reduced aircrews. The Air Force has experimented with conducting an aerial refueling mission on a KC-46A Pegasus with only a pilot and boom operator. In February 2022, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) conducted a trial of operating a UH-60A Black Hawk during a 30-minute flight with no pilot or crew on board.

• READ MORE: A UH-60A Black Hawk Just Flew With No Pilot On Board

The announcement builds on the Boston-based startup’s existing industry partnerships, including New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority. In April, Merlin was awarded a $1 million contract from the FAA to demonstrate its automated flight control system designed to reduce the workload of—and eventually remove—human pilots.

“We have integrated the Merlin Pilot onto a variety of commercial aircraft and surrogate platforms,” George told FLYING. “This partnership will be the first time that Merlin deploys its technology on the KC-135 directly, which opens up a world of opportunity for the Merlin Pilot’s deployment across other larger DOD [Department of Defense] platforms.” 

• READ MORE: U.S. Air Force To Test Single-Pilot C-130 Flight Crews

In addition to the KC-135, the technology has been integrated onto platforms including the Beechcraft King Air, de Havilland Twin Otter, Cessna Caravan, Long-EZ, and Cozy Mark IV.

The post U.S. Air Force, Merlin Partner for KC-135 Autonomous Flight Demo appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

A large, regional feeder airline for UPS and other overnight express carriers last week tentatively committed to buy 20 remote-controlled cargo planes, with a novel design, for middle-mile deliveries.

Ameriflight, which flies 156 small turboprop aircraft daily to more than 200 destinations in the U.S. and the Caribbean, signed a letter of intent with San Diego-based Natilus for 20 Kona feeder aircraft valued at $134 million, the companies announced.

Natilus is developing a family of pilotless aircraft it claims will increase cargo volume by 60 percent and cut carbon emissions in half, thereby making air shipments more affordable. The efficiency gains are possible because of carbon-fiber composite airframes and a blended-wing body—essentially a uniframe in which sections meld together—that creates more usable volume and better aerodynamics than a traditional airliner.

The absence of pilots also leaves more room for cargo.

The Kona is a short-haul feeder aircraft with a maximum payload of 4.7 tons and 900-mile range designed to carry the equivalent of seven LD3-45 small shipping containers. It is powered by two rear propeller engines. Other variants are a medium-haul jet with a 73-ton capacity, similar to a Boeing 767, and a long-range unmanned vehicle with a 121-ton payload.

The triangular blended wing-body configuration is a departure from tube-and-wing aircraft, which are loaded in a linear fashion. By rotating the cargo to 45 degrees, the diamond configuration maximizes space in the aircraft for more loading positions, a highly desirable quality in an e-commerce era when light boxes fill up planes before the takeoff weight limit is reached. Natilus aircraft will be smaller in size than their legacy counterparts, with more volume, according to the company.

Traditional fuselage cross sections are optimized for passengers, with a circular design to aid cabin pressurization. But cargo naturally moves best in rectangular boxes or pallets. Fitting rectangular pallets in a circular fuselage section leaves plenty of empty space. A blended-wing body configuration allows for a single rectangular cross section and full utilization of the available volume.

Collins Aerospace will provide the cargo loading system.

Co-founder and CEO Aleksey Matyushev has described the blended-wing Natilus concept as an attempt to combine the timeliness of airfreight with significant cost reductions that bring shipping to the point of being a commodity—as it is in ocean freight.

“We missed the mark when we started Natilus. We thought what people wanted was autonomy. Talking to our customers, what they really were interested in was a more volume-centric aircraft with autonomy more as a carrot, or the next evolution,” he said in an interview on Think Flight, a YouTube channel.

One of Natilus’ advisers is Ram Menen, who is famous in the air cargo industry for building Emirates’ cargo division into one of the largest cargo carriers in the world and helping found The International Air Cargo Association. 

In a Q&A on the company’s website, he said Natilus’ lower operating cost per freight-ton-kilometer will be a big advantage for cargo operators.

“Since Natilus will have large cargo doors and blended wing body design , it will be ideal for long and large/heavy cargo and will be a good replacement for the Boeing 747 freighter. The volumetric capacity of all the variants are very e-commerce friendly and ideal for low density cargo,” he added.

Natilus management envisions the Kona freighter as ideal for reaching outlying regions with small airports and as an alternative to road feeder service in the 300- to 430-mile range. The autonomous freighter is better suited for areas with water crossings, mountains, poor highway infrastructure or low-density routes where truck deliveries are less efficient, the company argues.

Blended-wing bodies have been used in military applications but were abandoned by previous commercial developers because they weren’t ideal for carrying passengers. Without people to worry about, issues about cabin pressurization, quick access to exit doors for evacuation and G-forces became manageable in a cargo-only aircraft.

A year ago Natilus announced $6 billion in advance purchase commitments, including from Kenyan all-cargo airline Astral Aviation, for more than 440 semi-autonomous aircraft.

Whether those orders are realized remains to be seen. Natilus is a 7-year-old startup with new technology that has yet to produce an actual plane and will require huge amounts of capital for further R&D and establishing a manufacturing line. The motivation for Ameriflight, and other carriers, to sign expressions of interest is to be at the front of the line when production aircraft become available and get a jump on competitors. 

Matyushev told FreightWaves the company expects to begin Kona flight tests in late 2024 and customer deliveries in 2026. The larger planes will take longer.

Ameriflight Invests for Future

Ameriflight, the largest U.S. carrier in the under-7,500-pound payload category and a major regional partner for UPS Airlines, believes Natilus can deliver on its promise to improve the economics of airfreight. 

“What we’ve seen from their technology so far has given us confidence that they’re at the forefront of large autonomous cargo planes,” said Jamie Smith, the company’s director of communications. “We’re impressed with Natilus’ continued progress on the blended-wing body aircraft design and their innovation of providing turnkey solutions for specific cargo needs. Natilus’ technology provides a lower cost of operation, while remaining well suited in capabilities for the customers in our corner of the industry. As battery technology increases and/or hydrogen-powered engines are developed and certified, the ability to modify the Kona to those alternate power sources is inviting.”

The Kona aircraft will enable Ameriflight to grow its route structure and pursue new business opportunities, she added.

Ameriflight utilizes turboprop aircraft to connect rural areas to FedEx (NYSE: FDX), DHL and UPS (NYSE: UPS) air hubs in large cities and also offers on-demand expedited delivery service to logistics companies. The largest aircraft it operates are the Saab 340B and the Embraer 120. The fleet also consists of the Fairchild SSA-227 Metroliner, Beechcraft 1900 and Beechcraft 99.

The first few Saab 340Bs entered service late last year under a lease agreement with Miami-based Jetstream Aviation Capital for 15 used aircraft converted to main-deck freighters. Five more are expected to be delivered this spring.

In December 2021, Ameriflight reached an agreement providing Boston-based Merlin Labs access to its fleet for testing of its autonomous technology. Merlin’s software and hardware can control an aircraft without human intervention. The Google Ventures-backed company says it has flown hundreds of flights and integrated its platform into four different aircraft types, including multi-engine aircraft. Large aircraft will be able to fly with reduced crews and smaller aircraft will fly themselves, once regulators approve autonomous aviation.

• READ MORE: Air Force KC-46 Flies Refueling Mission Without Copilot

The immediate benefit for Ameriflight is an increase in flight safety. If it proves out, the airline could retrofit all cockpits and avionics with autonomous technology, extending the life of its existing fleet — a less expensive proposition than buying purpose-built robot aircraft. 

A key reason Ameriflight is pursuing the Natilus and Merlin Labs technologies is that they reduce the need for pilots, which are increasingly difficult to find because of retirements, training barriers, licensing costs and quality-of-life issues. 

“Today, a pilot might come to us with a thousand hours of flight experience,” said former Ameriflight CEO Paul Chase in a news release about the transaction. With the Merlin system “we’re putting the equivalent of much more experience in the cockpit on Day One. You don’t have this learning curve that pilots need to go through, and that lowers the overall risk profile to the airline.

“It’s imperative that we complement — not replace — our existing team of fixed-wing pilots with autonomous pilots. We have ample opportunities for growth in front of us with the increased level of e-commerce, disruptions in the supply chain, etc. But we can’t capitalize on that in any significant way unless we solve this staffing problem in a scalable and cost-effective way.” 

Ameriflight last year significantly revised its pilot compensation program to include substantial pay increases and a six-figure retention bonus plan. 

“Our intention is to use the Natilus and Merlin technology in tandem, along with our present operations, to support both our current customers and the growth we’re seeing in the demand for our services. They will be entirely complementary to, and most certainly not replacing, our current aircraft or pilot group. It will be an addition to our fleet and used as a separate business avenue, allowing us to grow our diversified aviation platform and to support the unprecedented demand for our services,” said Smith. 

Autonomous Flight Evolution

The Natilus cargo jets will be capable of fully autonomous flight but initially operate with a remote pilot in an office to comply with current safety standards and enable faster approval. The ability to be certified under current regulations is a big advantage over drones used for last-mile logistics. Switching from a pilot in the cockpit to a “fly-by-mouse autopilot system” is a smaller leap for civil aviation authorities, which are already comfortable with existing autopilot functions that allow most of the trip to be preprogrammed and turn the pilot into a skilled flight manager rather than a manual aviator. 

The remote operator simply inputs waypoints into the aircraft’s navigation system and monitors the system to make sure everything is functioning properly, Matyushev explained. With remote piloting, a single person could operate three aircraft simultaneously. 

Natilus moved from Silicon Valley to San Diego two years ago to be close to a sophisticated wind tunnel and a Federal Aviation Administration office that manages certifications for advanced aircraft. Engineers used data from wind tunnel tests on models to predict flight characteristics of the full-scale aircraft and help refine the autopilot.

Last spring, the company acquired a 12,000-square-foot hangar and runway facility at Brown Field. It plans to fly a small-scale prototype to gather more data on flight characteristics and close another funding round this summer, Matyushev said.

Final assembly will take place in San Diego with components made by suppliers such as Janicki, which will build carbon fiber panels, bulkheads and other sections. 

Other companies pursuing middle-mile and heavy unmanned aerial vehicles include Switzerland-based Destinus SA with a hypersonic plane, Dronamics, Drone Delivery Canada and Elroy Air with its hybrid-electrical Chapparal drone. Natilus is the only one with a blended-wing body. 

For more coverage on drone delivery, go to FreightWaves.com.

The post UPS Feeder Airline Intends to Buy 20 Pilotless Cargo Planes appeared first on FLYING Magazine.