Know What's Happening in Autonomy

U.S. Military Moves to Turn C-130J Into Drone

Merlin Labs announced the successful completion of the Preliminary Design Review for its Merlin Pilot autonomous system on the C‑130J Super Hercules, clearing a key technical hurdle with U.S. Special Operations Command. The milestone unlocks the Critical Design phase, where detailed engineering, integration, and flight demonstrations will commence. The program is backed by an IDIQ contract worth up to $105 million, positioning the autonomy solution on the military’s primary tactical air‑lift platform. Merlin Pilot is built from first principles to manage full flight operations without a human pilot.