Merlin lands autonomously at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh

Merlin, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRLN) completed an autonomous landing of a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan aircraft at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh on July 17, 2026, according to a company statement.

The landing took place at 10:02 a.m. CDT on Runway 27 at the 73rd annual event in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, using the company's Merlin Pilot AI-powered autonomy platform. Merlin claims the landing was the first autonomous landing of a conventional fixed-wing aircraft in EAA AirVenture history, though the company did not provide independent verification of that claim.

"For more than 70 years, Oshkosh has been where aviation introduces its next chapter," said Matt George, CEO and founder of Merlin. "We're incredibly grateful to the EAA air and ground crews, whose involvement made this achievement possible."

The event follows several other milestones the company reported earlier in 2026, including its public listing on NASDAQ in March and the completion of a Critical Design Review for a C-130J autonomy program with U.S. Special Operations Command. Merlin also unveiled a product family for large, multi-crew aircraft called Condor.

Merlin said its C-130J program carries more than $100 million in indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract ceiling value with U.S. Special Operations Command.

The company's aircraft was on display at the Oshkosh show alongside an interactive flight simulator demonstrating the Merlin Pilot system.

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