Merlin’s Autonomous C-130J Passes Critical Design Review

Merlin has completed the critical design review (CDR) for its C-130J autonomy program with U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), moving the program out of design development and into aircraft integration, the company announced on Thursday.

Completion of the CDR confirms the system’s design is ready for the next phase of development. The program will first advance through hardware-in-the-loop simulation before moving to aircraft integration and ground testing, with flight demonstrations to follow, a Merlin spokeswoman told AIN. Boston-based Merlin completed the preliminary design review in March. No specific C-130J airframe has been designated for integration yet, the spokeswoman said, citing USSOCOM’s current operational demands.

“Completing the critical design review validates the architecture we’ve built for safe, scalable autonomy on large aircraft like the C-130J,” Merlin founder and CEO Matt George said in a company statement. “As we move into integration, ground testing, and eventually flight demonstrations, we’re focused on proving autonomy from takeoff to touchdown is one of the most effective ways to improve operations and safety for U.S. warfighters.”

Merlin’s C-130J work falls under an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract with USSOCOM valued at up to $105 million. Built by Lockheed Martin, the C-130J Super Hercules is a four-engine turboprop transport aircraft and the most widely used military transport in the world. Merlin’s goal is to reduce crew workload enough to enable reduced-crew and single-pilot operations, with fully uncrewed flight as the long-term objective.

In its first-quarter financial report, Merlin said it anticipates initial customer deliveries under the IDIQ contract within the next year, though the company noted that the timeline depends on successfully completing integration and testing.

Meanwhile, Merlin is working with the U.S. Air Force’s Air Mobility Command and Air Force Materiel Command to integrate the Merlin Pilot into the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker; the Air Force approved an airworthiness plan for that effort in November 2024.

Both defense programs are supporting Merlin’s commercial ambitions. In May, the company launched Condor, a product family aimed at bringing the Merlin Pilot to Part 25 transport-category aircraft for cargo operators, with freighter lessor World Star Aviation among its first partners.

Merlin has been flight-testing the Merlin Pilot on a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan in California and Alaska, and it has been conducting commercial cargo flights on unmodified aircraft in New Zealand since early 2024 under a Civil Aviation Authority air operator certificate. It has also conducted data collection flights on unmodified KC-135 aircraft at Pittsburgh Air National Guard Base in Pennsylvania with partner Sierra Nevada Corp., gathering information to inform the Merlin Pilot’s integration design for the tanker.