Autonomous flight start-up Merlin and its partner Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) have completed the first three test flights for a U.S. Air Force program that aims to automate operations with the KC-135 Stratotanker.
The USAF issued Merlin and SNC a temporary military flight release on July 22. Their first three KC-135 flights took place at the Pittsburgh Air National Guard Base in Pennsylvania, home of the 171st Air Refueling Wing.
While Boston-based Merlin is focused on automating flight controls, SNC has been developing autonomous air-to-air refuelers and related precision navigation technology for more than 20 years alongside DARPA and NASA. Findings from the program could influence the USAF's plans for the Next Generation Air-Refueling System (NGAS) that it wants to replace its fleet of KC-46 and KC-135 tankers in the 2030s.
These data collection missions support an agreement Merlin signed with the U.S. Air Force in February to explore autonomous capabilities in the KC-135. Under that contract, Merlin is collaborating with the U.S. Air Force’s Air Mobility Command and the Air Force Material Command to integrate, test, and demonstrate various aspects of the Merlin Pilot system in the aerial refueling platform.
“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,” said Merlin founder and CEO Matt George.
“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. These are foundational and critical steps that get us closer to advancing and scaling autonomous capabilities across the USAF’s fleet,” George added.
The KC-135 automation program is taking a stepwise approach, with the initial goal of reducing crew workload. That will lead to reduced-crew operations, and ultimately uncrewed flights.
In May, a team of Merlin engineers joined USAF pilots on a KC-135 flight to observe their workflow and behavior. This “human factors” data will shape the development of Merlin’s autonomous flight technology, which the company will initially offer for single-pilot operations.