Merlin Kicks Off KC-135 In-Flight Data Collection with SNC to Progress Autonomous Capabilities for the United States Air Force
2024年8月6日 - 10:01PM
ビジネスワイヤ(英語)
Real-time flight data is critical to
progressing the design, integration, and eventual flight
demonstrations of the Merlin Pilot, in addition to informing the
planned Next Generation Air-Refueling System
Merlin, the leading developer of safe, autonomous flight
technology for fixed-wing aircraft, today announced that together
with its partner, global aerospace and defense leader SNC, it
recently conducted the first three test flights in Merlin’s ongoing
KC-135 Stratotanker test program at the Pittsburgh Air National
Guard Base. Starting July 22, Merlin and SNC were granted a
temporary military flight release by the United States Air Force
(USAF). The team conducted real-time data collection and analysis
to inform the Merlin Pilot’s integration design and flight control
tuning for military aircraft.
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Merlin Kicks Off KC-135 In-Flight Data
Collection with SNC to Progress Autonomous Capabilities for the
United States Air Force (Photo: Business Wire)
The flights support an ongoing agreement with Air Mobility
Command (AMC) and Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) to design,
integrate, test, and demonstrate aspects of the Merlin Pilot on the
KC-135. Merlin engineers also joined USAF pilots on data collection
flights at MacDill Air Force Base in May 2024. The flights helped
the team better understand crew workload drivers for military use
cases. Together, these milestones signify Merlin’s progressive
system design and integration work to achieve its goal of an
in-flight demonstration of the Merlin Pilot in the next year, as
well as support broader product alignment to help inform the
planned Next Generation Air-Refueling System (NGAS).
“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 Matt
George, CEO and founder, Merlin. “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.”
About Merlin Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Boston,
with additional offices in Denver as well as flight test facilities
in Mojave, CA and Kerikeri, New Zealand, Merlin is building a
platform-adaptable advanced automation system to perpetuate a
resilient air network. To learn more, visit www.merlinlabs.com or
follow us on Twitter @merlinaero.
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Media Kate Gundry 617-797-5174 merlin@pluckpr.com