Honeywell and Merlin collaborate on autonomous flight tech for civil and military aircraft

PHOENIX - Honeywell in Phoenix and Merlin Labs, a Boston-based developer of autonomous flight technology for fixed-wing aircraft, announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on introducing autonomous systems across various aircraft, including military fleets.

The partnership will integrate Merlin Pilot, Merlin’s autonomous flight system, with Honeywell Anthem’s avionics suite, aiming to reduce pilot workload and boost efficiency on special missions. Honeywell Anthem offers an intuitive interface and flight management capabilities that align with Merlin Pilot’s automation system, enabling a range of automated flight tasks.

Initially, the collaboration will focus on retrofitting fixed-wing military aircraft with Merlin’s automation technology to support reduced crew operations, with plans to eventually enable uncrewed flight. The approach contrasts with new, fully autonomous aircraft systems, as this integration targets existing aircraft, aiming to reduce the number of pilots needed while meeting safety standards.

Related: Merlin's self-flying Cessna begins testing for FAA validation

"This collaboration will benefit the military significantly, as this autonomy solution helps alleviate the pilot shortage by reducing the number of pilots required for certain aircraft operations," said Bob Buddecke, president of Electronic Solutions at Honeywell Aerospace Technologies. "By enabling single-pilot operations and automating key tasks, this partnership provides a scalable and safe solution to ease pilot workload and optimize fleet operations for both the military and commercial aviation industry." 

"The safety and scalability of the aviation industry is highly dependent on the progressive advancement of autonomous capabilities," Merlin CEO and founder Matt George said. "This partnership is an important step for Merlin and Honeywell to bring this technology to commercial and military aircraft, starting with single pilot operations. Honeywell is a respected company in aerospace, and paired with Merlin, together we will be able to significantly advance pilot efficiency and create a safer aviation ecosystem.”

Merlin recently secured a $105 million contract with U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and partnered with Air Mobility Command (AMC) and Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) to deploy Merlin Pilot on C-130J and KC-135 aircraft, respectively.