Hanneke Weitering is a writer and editor with AIN covering advanced air mobility and new flight technologies. She became an aviation journalist and joined the AIN team in the summer of 2022 after reporting on spaceflight and astronomy for six years at Space.com. After earning a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, she moved to New York City to pursue a master’s degree in science, health, and environmental reporting at New York University&#039;s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. She is now based in Seattle near Boeing Field and spends her free time exploring nature in the Pacific Northwest.

Science & Technology Editor

Hanneke Weitering

Autonomous flight systems developer Merlin has signed a cooperative research and development agreement with the U.S. Air Force to advance contingency management capabilities in next-generation uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS), the company announced on October 22.
According to Merlin, the collaboration will focus on “new approaches to autonomous fault detection, recovery, and dynamic mission adaptation, enabling aircraft to respond more effectively to unexpected events, system degradations, or operational changes.”&nbsp;
“Contingency management is essential to achieving the Air Force’s vision of trusted, resilient autonomy,” said Chris Gentile, general manager of tactical autonomy at Merlin. “Through this collaboration, we can align Merlin’s expertise with the USAF’s operational priorities, helping to define autonomy standards that strengthen the entire defense ecosystem.&nbsp;
“This partnership reflects our shared commitment to advancing capabilities that allow collaborative air platforms to operate safely, adapt in real-time, and complete missions even in the most challenging conditions.”
Results of the partnership will inform the Air Force’s Autonomy-Government Reference Architecture (A-GRA), an adaptable, modular, and scalable architecture for autonomous systems such as the Merlin Pilot. The Air Force has also contracted Merlin competitor Reliable Robotics <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2025-07-29/us-air-force-taps-reliable-robotics-develop-autonomy-architecture">to collaborate on the A-GRA</a>.&nbsp;
Maj. Dustin Graves, a program manager at the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Afwerx innovation unit, said the collaboration with Merlin “will help us build on a common, government-owned architecture for autonomous systems, ensuring interoperability, accelerating innovation, and ultimately, delivering resilient and adaptable capabilities to our warfighters.”
Merlin’s aircraft-agnostic autopilot technology is intended to reduce pilot workload and fatigue, making aviation safer while enabling reduced-crew operations in commercial and military aircraft. The U.S. Department of Defense has contracted Merlin to test and integrate the Merlin Pilot system in the Lockheed Martin <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/news-article/2022-07-14/merlin-labs-raises-105-million-partners-us-air-force-autonomous-flights">C-130J Super Hercules</a> and the Boeing <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/futureflight/2024-11-12/usaf-approves-merlins-airworthiness-plan-autonomous-kc-135">KC-135 Stratotanker</a>.

News and issues relating to civil and military unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) of all kinds and sizes, including those used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), combat (unmanned combat air vehicles, or UCAVs), law enforcement, research and other applications. Of particular focus is the FAA's planned integration of UAS into the U.S. national airspace system.

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