Merlin Inc. (NASDAQ: MRLN) announced plans to bring its AI-powered autonomy system to commercial cargo aircraft through a new product called Merlin Pilot for Commercial Cargo, according to a company press release.

The system is part of Condor, Merlin's product family for large, multi-crew aircraft that applies the Merlin Pilot autonomy core across civil and military platforms. The same technology is currently being tested with the U.S. Special Operations Command on C-130J aircraft.

Boeing projects the global fleet of large cargo aircraft will grow from approximately 2,340 today to nearly 3,900 over the next two decades, with more than 2,800 production and conversion deliveries forecasted.

Merlin Pilot is designed to work alongside pilots to manage aircraft systems, monitor the environment, and handle communications during flight operations. The system has completed hundreds of flights across multiple aircraft platforms and is pursuing civil certification.

In March 2026, the company completed a Preliminary Design Review milestone in its military program with USSOCOM. Merlin holds contracts with a ceiling value exceeding $100 million for its C-130J autonomy program.

The company has established a collaboration with World Star Aviation, a freighter lessor, and is developing additional partnerships in the commercial cargo conversion market.

"The pilot shortage is structurally impacting operators and comes at a time when the conversion market is at record volume," said Matt George, CEO and Founder of Merlin.

Merlin is an aerospace and defense technology company focused on autonomous flight systems for military and civilian aircraft.