Textron Aviation and Merlin unveiled a concept on Monday for an autonomous cargo airplane based on the Cessna SkyCourier, proposing to replace the cockpit with a nose cargo door and hand flying duties to Merlin’s autonomy software.
So far, the Cessna SkyCourier UX exists as a design study and a model on the show floor at the Air & Space Forces Association’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland. The companies have not named a customer or set a timeline for building one.
Boston-based Merlin would supply Merlin Pilot, the autonomous flight system it has flown on Cessna Caravans and Beechcraft King Airs. Textron Aviation would supply the airframe, a turboprop twin that the FAA certified in 2022 and FedEx feeder on short cargo routes, among other roles.
Design objectives call for roughly 6,000 pounds of cargo, three LD3 containers—the standard boxes airlines load into an airplane’s lower hold—and takeoffs and landings from unpaved strips with nobody on board. Those figures match the crewed SkyCourier freighter already in service. The partners said they are also studying kneeling gear and built-in loading systems, predicting that the airplane would fill a gap between small cargo drones and military transports too large for the job.
“Military planners are increasingly focused on how to sustain forces across distributed and contested operational environments,” said Textron Aviation v-p of defense and special mission sales Bob Gibbs. “The Cessna SkyCourier UX concept reflects our commitment to examining practical solutions to real-world mission challenges by leveraging real, certified products with innovative adaptation.”
“The future of contested logistics needs more capacity and access to places we wouldn’t risk a crew,” added Merlin founder and CEO Matt George. “Merlin Pilot has already flown hundreds of autonomous flights on Cessna Caravans, Beechcraft King Airs, and other aircraft. This concept pairs Merlin Pilot with a proven platform, the SkyCourier, to explore what an aircraft could look like when it’s designed around autonomy and cargo instead of a crew. Solving contested logistics today takes proven autonomy and a proven airframe.”
Building on a certified airplane already in production gives the concept an established manufacturing base and support network, Textron Aviation said.
On the commercial side, Merlin introduced its Condor product family in May and framed it as software that flies alongside pilots rather than replacing them. The SkyCourier UX would carry no pilot.
Autonomy software Merlin is building for U.S. Special Operations Command C-130J transports passed a critical design review in June under a contract worth up to $105 million. In August, Merlin said New Zealand’s regulator had accepted its testing evidence for the flight control computer and the software that talks to controllers. Israel Aerospace Industries agreed in July to pursue autonomous freighter conversions with Merlin.
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