Merlin kicks off KC-135 in-flight data collection with SNC for the United States Air Force

Merlin, a developer of safe, autonomous flight technology for fixed-wing aircraft, has announced this week that together with its partner, global aerospace and defence leader SNC, it recently conducted the first three test flights in Merlin’s ongoing KC-135 Stratotanker test program at the Pittsburgh Air National Guard Base. 

From 22 July, Merlin and SNC were granted a temporary military flight release by the United States Air Force (USAF). The team conducted real-time data collection and analysis to inform the Merlin Pilot’s integration design and flight control tuning for military aircraft.

The flights support an ongoing agreement with Air Mobility Command (AMC) and Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) to design, integrate, test, and demonstrate aspects of the Merlin Pilot on the KC-135. Merlin engineers also joined USAF pilots on data collection flights at MacDill Air Force Base in May 2024. The flights helped the team better understand crew workload drivers for military use cases. Together, these milestones signify Merlin’s progressive system design and integration work to achieve its goal of an in-flight demonstration of the Merlin Pilot in the next year, as well as support broader product alignment to help inform the planned Next Generation Air-Refueling System (NGAS).

“Autonomous capabilities are essential to increasing operational capacity for the USAF and enhancing national security, emphasizing the importance of these data collection flights to properly inform the integration design ahead of flight demonstrations,” said Matt George, CEO and founder, Merlin. “Over the last few months, we’ve achieved important milestones on the KC-135 that allow us to strengthen the relationship between the pilot and the aircraft as well as enhance safety and operational efficiency aboard a vital military aircraft. These are foundational and critical steps that get us closer to advancing and scaling autonomous capabilities across the USAF’s fleet.”

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Metrea announces acquisition of the entire French Air & Space Force KC-135 Tanker Fleet

This week, Metrea announced that it has completed the acquisition of the French Air and Space Forces (FASF) KC-135 aerial refuelling fleet. In an agreement signed on 17 May 2024, Metrea has agreed to acquire all fourteen of the FASF KC-135 tankers, including both the KC-/C-135FR and KC-/C-135RG variants. The FASF is divesting this fleet as they transition to A330-based tankers.

"With this acquisition, Metrea is putting even more 'skin in the game' to ensure that we have the necessary fleet capacity to provide our partners with the commercial aerial refuelling support they require for training, exercises, and force movement," said Jon "Ty" Thomas, Head of Metrea's Air & Space Group. "As the only provider of KC-135 commercial refuelling, we ensure that US, allied, and partners forces can train as they are very likely to operate in a contingency — refuelling behind KC-135 tankers which remain far and away the most prevalent AAR tanker in service today and for the foreseeable future."

The acquisition includes an initial tranche of 11 KC-/C-135FR, which were transferred to Metrea on 26 June 2024, and a second tranche of 3 KC-135RG, which will be transferred at a future date to be determined. The additional aircraft join Metrea's current fleet of 4 KC-135Rs, previously purchased from the Singapore government. With this acquisition, Metrea now has the world's largest commercial aerial refuelling fleet and presents a tanker fleet larger than all but four sovereign countries.