NASDAQ: MRLNNASDAQ: MRLN · Independent · Not affiliated
Independent · Not affiliated
Updated Thesis — September 27, 2026 (ET). As-of dates in America/New_York (ET) unless a source states otherwise.
Merlin Brief is an independent research digest. Not investment advice. Not affiliated with Merlin Labs, Merlin Labs Inc., or NASDAQ. Figures are from public sources and may be incomplete, estimated (EST), or stale — check the as-of dates. Do your own research.
01
Share price and market cap follow the Yahoo chart last sale and refresh while this page is open. Cash, runway, and the IDIQ ceiling stay filing-sourced. Not a Nasdaq tape and not a trading terminal.
Refreshing quote…
~$1.8–2.0
as of 2026-09-18
EST from secondary quote aggregators (e.g. ~$1.95 close Sep 18; ~$1.77 quoted Sep 24). Not a live feed — verify on NASDAQ.
~$180M
as of 2026-09-24
Depends on share count × spot. EST from secondary (~$179M cited); not filing-stamped.
…
as of —
Same Yahoo print as the last sale.
…
as of —
Regular-session low and high on that print.
…
as of —
Yahoo chart 52-week low and high. Not a filing figure.
Source: Yahoo chart via /api/quote · As of — · Market cap = last sale × 100,592,160 (shares as of 2026-06-30) · Not a Nasdaq-licensed tape — verify on Nasdaq / IR.
$183.9M
as of 2026-06-30
Cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments; no debt reported at Q2 print.
~$183.9M net cash
as of 2026-06-30
Company reported no debt at Jun 30, 2026.
Through FY2028 (co. framing) / ~18–24 mo EST
as of 2026-06-30
EST. Company frames funding through FY2028. ~18–24 months is a rough read of Q2 burn vs $183.9M cash — not a model.
100,592,160
as of 2026-06-30
Issued and outstanding per Q2 balance sheet excerpt.
USSOCOM C-130J IDIQ ceiling ~$105M
as of 2024-06-11
Ceiling / IDIQ authority — not funded backlog or recognized revenue. Company also cites $100M+ total IDIQ ceiling value.
Source: SEC submissions API via /api/filings · CIK 0002028707 · refreshes on load.
Loading filings…
02
Falsifiers first — binary certification and runway risk deserve the front of the page.
As of 2026-09-27 · all clear / not triggered
Material civil certification failure or multi-quarter delay vs dual-track FAA / NZ CAA path
Cash runway breach or distressed dilutive raise under adverse terms
Loss, cancellation, or prolonged stop-work on USSOCOM C-130J / load-bearing defense path
Adverse FAA / NZ CAA / airworthiness signal that blocks demonstration or cert path
These are the load-bearing assumptions behind the digest — not forecasts.
On-time gate evidence vs multi-quarter slip or hard fail.
Binary falsifier for the civil path; process progress > narrative volume.
Dated integration / flight-test / funded task-order evidence after CDR.
Named defense spine; ceiling is not backlog.
Whether cash lasts through disclosed FY2028 framing without a distressed raise.
Cert-stage names are often diluted before gates clear.
PIPE / warrant / future equity paths vs the 100,592,160 shares as-of 2026-06-30.
Market cap and dilution math move when the share bridge changes.
03
Structural points from public materials — not hype cards.
01
Merlin Pilot is positioned as a single autonomy stack designed to adapt across aircraft types rather than a one-airframe vehicle company — a structural claim that, if proven in cert and integration, can compound across fleets.
02
USSOCOM C-130J IDIQ (company-stated ~$105M ceiling) plus completed PDR (Mar 2026) and CDR (Jun 2026) give a dated military process spine that commercial-only autonomy stories often lack.
03
Dual-track civil work (FAA and New Zealand CAA, per board PR) is both the potential barrier to entry and the load-bearing falsifier — process progress matters more than narrative volume.
04
Company framing emphasizes extending capabilities of aircraft already in operation (e.g. C-130J) rather than waiting on a new airframe — relevant for defense mission economics and near-term integration risk.
04
Not a geo map. Cards only — drawn from issuer public materials.
Layer
AI-powered autonomous flight system framed as an aircraft-agnostic “operating system of record” for autonomy — takeoff to touchdown, with or without a human crew, per issuer description.
Primary disclosed defense integration focus under USSOCOM IDIQ — reduced aircrew / autonomy demonstration path.
Issuer materials reference pathways across broader SOF fixed-wing and future civil types — treat expansion claims as forward until named in filings/PRs.
USSOCOM C-130J program; majority of early revenue recognized under defense IDIQ task orders (Q2 2026 commentary).
Dual-track civil certification framing (FAA + NZ CAA). Earlier-stage relative to the named defense program — watch gates, not slogans.
Issuer-listed locations — text only, not a map. The company page also lists Hanscom Airfield as under construction.
05
Thin record. IDIQ ceiling ≠ funded backlog ≠ recognized revenue.
06
Elevated above valuation — runway and dilution are load-bearing for a cert-stage name.
Biggest capital lever: dilution path and burn vs the FY2028 cash framing — update from the next 10-Q / 8-K, not from tape noise.
Cash
$183.9M cash + STI
as of 2026-06-30 · sourced
Shares
100,592,160 issued & outstanding
as of 2026-06-30 · sourced
Debt facilities
None disclosed at last print
as of 2026-06-30 · sourced
Ticker
MRLN
Trading start 2026-03-17
Q2 2026: Adj. EBITDA loss ~$27.8M; cash used in ops ~$27.3M; capex ~$1.6M. Company frames cash as funding operations through fiscal 2028 — treat runway months as EST until a formal burn bridge is published.
May 2026 PIPE warrants: PIPE closed May 1, 2026: 8,000,000 common shares at $10.00 plus warrants exercisable for 4,000,000 shares (strike cited at $6.67 in secondary summaries — confirm in warrant exhibit).
07
Dated process spine. Forward nodes have no invented calendar dates. On a phone, Forward is the default tab.
Tap a node, or drag along the line. Left and right arrows move the selection. No dates were invented for Forward.
Completed
Aug 13, 2026
Revenue $2.2M; GAAP net loss $(58.4)M; cash+STI $183.9M; no debt. Early revenue, heavy R&D / investment phase.
Q2 earnings exhibit(opens in a new tab)08
Chief roles from the issuer company page, plus the seven-person board. Profiles are condensed from appointment releases, the April 16, 2026 board biographies, the IR committee page, and the May 2026 prospectus — not a proxy statement reprint.
Founder, Chairman, President & CEO
Board chair · Transaction Committee chair · age 35 in the May 2026 prospectus
Founder of Merlin and CEO of Legacy Merlin since November 2018. Appointed CEO, President, and Chairman of the public company on March 16, 2026. Issuer board materials say he built the company from inception through the Nasdaq listing and frame the thesis as challenging aviation’s human-centric design assumptions. The April 16, 2026 board release cites more than $100 million in total contract value, including the USSOCOM C-130J IDIQ, and a dual-track civil certification path with the FAA and New Zealand CAA. Before Merlin he founded and led Bridj, a booking and fleet-management company, and worked in the Executive Office of the President.
Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer
Named executive officer · age 41 in the May 2026 prospectus
Joined Legacy Merlin as CFO on October 7, 2025 and was appointed CFO and Treasurer of Merlin, Inc. at the March 16, 2026 close. The November 2025 appointment release describes 20-plus years across aerospace, industrial, and automation companies, including Astra and KUKA, and a most recent role as Vice President of Strategic Finance and Treasury at Ginkgo Bioworks. Cash, share count, and dilution reporting sit with this seat.
Chief Technology Officer
Appointed September 18, 2024 · issuer company page
Appointed CTO as Merlin expanded the C-suite around Merlin Pilot development and certification. The appointment release says he leads engineering and technical teams for civil and military customers, and cites prior Chief Engineer roles at Honda Aircraft Company and L3Harris Technologies plus Vice President of Engineering at Thales Aerospace.
Chief Program Officer
Appointed September 18, 2024 · issuer company page
The company’s first Chief Program Officer, responsible for management and execution of ongoing and new autonomy programs. The same September 2024 release cites prior aerospace roles at Supernal, Wisk, and Lockheed Martin. Program evidence after that hire includes the disclosed PDR and CDR on the C-130J path.
Chief Legal Officer & Secretary
Appointed March 16, 2026 · age 51 in the May 2026 prospectus
Appointed CLO and Secretary at the business-combination close. A November 19, 2025 release, ahead of listing, says she brings 20-plus years advising public companies in technology, autonomy, aerospace, and defense, and joined from Textron. The role covers legal, corporate governance, regulatory, and compliance, including public-company readiness. The 2025 compensation discussion in later filings notes she was an executive officer but below the named-executive-officer pay threshold that year.
Chief People Officer
Announced November 19, 2025 · issuer company page
Appointed with Ravestein ahead of the listing to lead talent strategy, people operations, and culture. The release cites team-building work at Vecna Robotics, Akamai, Dell, and Microsoft.
Chief Marketing Officer
Effective March 31, 2026
Issuer results commentary and the March 31, 2026 appointment release say he leads brand and marketing as Merlin Pilot is described across defense and civil programs. Nearly 15 years in brand, content, and communications; almost six years at Formlabs, most recently Global Head of Brand and Communications, and before that a marketing director at Lola.com.
Chief Revenue Officer
Effective April 13, 2026 · age 59 in the May 2026 prospectus
Leads global revenue strategy. More than 25 years across military service, defense policy, and business development. Prospectus and appointment release: Executive Vice President, Public Sector at PsiQuantum from July 2024 to March 2026; before that President of Public Sector at Primer AI; earlier, market-strategy work at The Cohen Group and six years as an advisor to U.S. Senator Mark Warner. Also described as a retired U.S. Navy pilot (about 20 years; Atlantic Council notes the rank of Commander).
CEO of New Zealand
Listed on the issuer company page · no standalone biography located
The company leadership page names Grant Crenfeldt as CEO of New Zealand. A separate biography was not on the issuer pages reviewed. Context for the seat is operational, not personal: Merlin’s June 10, 2026 note describes a flight-test center in Kerikeri since 2022 and a stated aim of commercial autonomous service in New Zealand in 2027, with NZ CAA as one side of the dual-track civil path.
Chairman
Not independent · Chair, Transaction Committee
See the operating profile above. The board is seven directors. He is the only director the April 16, 2026 release does not describe as independent.
Lead Independent Director
Independent · Chair, Nominating & Governance · Transaction Committee · age 48 in the May 2026 prospectus
Lead independent director. Chairman and CEO of Inflection Point Fund I L.P.; the board release says that platform has taken aerospace, defense, and critical-minerals assets public and cites capital raises and M&A totaling more than $10 billion across the portfolio. Chairman of USA Rare Earth since 2025 and a director of Intuitive Machines. Graduate of Cornell and Columbia Business School. He had been a director of the predecessor SPAC and remained on the post-combination board.
Independent Director
Independent · Nominating & Governance · age 65 in the May 2026 prospectus
77th Secretary of the Navy (May 2020–January 2021), U.S. Ambassador to Norway (January 2018–May 2020), and a naval aviator who retired as a Rear Admiral after service from 1980 to 2011. The board release also lists a fellowship at the NATO School in Oberammergau, the chairmanship of Fincantieri USA, and senior-advisor roles at Kongsberg Defence and Saronic Technologies.
Independent Director
Independent · Chair, Audit · Compensation Committee · age 67 in the May 2026 prospectus
Described in the board headline as Amazon’s first Chief Accounting Officer, where she helped build financial reporting for the company. Began at Ernst & Young in Silicon Valley and the U.K. Later CFO roles include Celestial AI (through Marvell’s acquisition) and Asure Software. The release says she led three public offerings as CFO, including Calix, Astra, and Arista Networks.
Independent Director
Independent · Audit · Nominating & Governance · age 70 in the May 2026 prospectus
Former White House appointee: CFO and 19th Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Financial Management and Comptroller (August 2001–March 2005). U.S. Army career included a Senate fellowship and teaching economics and political science at West Point. Senior Lecturer and Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School since October 2023. Founder and CEO of GRC Advisory Services since July 2016. Boards cited: Civeo, Monarca Food Solutions, and the National Association of Corporate Directors.
Independent Director
Independent · Compensation · Transaction Committee · age 61 in the May 2026 prospectus · listed as Bob Smith on the IR board page
CEO of Blue Origin from September 2017 to January 2024. Before that, leadership roles at Honeywell Aerospace (2004–2017), including CTO and President of Mechanical Systems and Components, plus United Space Alliance and The Aerospace Corporation. Degrees cited: applied math and engineering (Brown), MIT Sloan, and a PhD in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. Current boards cited: Parsons and Seurat Technologies.
Independent Director
Independent · Audit · Chair, Compensation · age 56 in the May 2026 prospectus
Co-founded Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras in 2007 and served as a director until April 2025. Previously a sector leader for aerospace, defense, and advanced manufacturing at AdvanceCT. CEO of Thistledown Advisory Group, which she founded in 2017. The release cites 25-plus years in portfolio management and equity research at Phibro Energy Trading, Pequot Capital, and Wells Fargo, and a board seat at USA Rare Earth.
Senior Vice President of Engineering
Not a chief title on the company leadership page · announced November 19, 2025
Named in the same pre-listing release as the CLO and Chief People Officer. The release says he accelerates Merlin Pilot development and certification, including an active supplemental type certificate program on a Cessna Grand Caravan 208B, and that integration work was planned across platforms including the KC-135, C-130J, and Scaled Composites’ Model 437 Vanguard with Northrop Grumman. Prior roles cited: Vice President and Program Manager of Dream Chaser Cargo at Sierra Space, and nearly two decades at Northrop Grumman including program director work on F/A-18, F-5, and N-UCAS.
09
Outbound links to places people watch MRLN. Third-party tools and issuer pages — not endorsements, not our data feeds.
10
Independent third-party write-ups we found. Credit + link out only — we do not reproduce their full posts or recommendation language here.
These writers are not affiliated with Merlin Brief. Links are citations, not endorsements, not our recommendation, and not a BUY / HOLD / SELL. Titles belong to their authors. Do your own research.
Crossroads Capital
Long-form thesis piece framing Merlin as a multi-year autonomy / certification process story.
Shawarma Capital
Two notes: a Merlin World / sim-oriented write-up and a first-person flight-demo frequency piece.
AJL Research
Substack overview of Merlin’s autonomy stack and public milestones.
sri795500
Personal Substack initiation note — author title retained; not our recommendation.
11
No BUY/HOLD/SELL badge. Scenarios only, under explicit assumptions. Numbers left EST / qualitative. Do not invent DCF outputs.
No BUY / HOLD / SELL badge on this site.
As of 2026-09-27
Qualitative · EST · no fair value
Cert gate fails or multi-quarter slip + cash tightens into a distressed raise. Equity value compresses toward option-on-remaining-cash / scrap-process outcomes. EST — no numeric FV published here.
Assumes break condition on cert or runway triggers.
Qualitative · EST · no fair value
Defense path continues slowly; civil cert slips; dilution continues; revenue stays early-stage. Market prices a long option with high burn. EST — no numeric FV published here.
Assumes delayed gates, ongoing equity needs.
Qualitative · EST · no fair value
C-130J integration/test prints dated evidence; cash lasts through disclosed FY2028 framing without distressed terms; civil path advances without a hard fail. Valuation stays process-tied, not peer-multiple theater. EST — awaiting a formal model.
Assumes milestones hit with manageable dilution.
Qualitative · EST · no fair value
Funded task orders scale, demo/cert evidence compounds, and platform narrative extends beyond one airframe — with dilution contained. EST only; no invented DCF or target price.
Assumes multiple successful gates + capital discipline.
Record
A briefing from Merlin’s own site, one PR Newswire release, and the public Lever posting. Fetched 4 October 2026 (ET). Not Merlin. Not investment advice.
A ceiling is not cash. A path is not a fleet buy. A planned date is not a result. If a date lived only in a screenshot, it is not in the list below. Same text on /timeline.
The Merlin Pilot is one aircraft-agnostic system meant to fly existing aircraft from takeoff to touchdown, civil and military. The company page says it is proven through hundreds of hours of autonomous flights and that Merlin holds a prime military contract. The homepage pairs that with a C-130J line for U.S. Special Operations Command and a King Air maritime-surveillance test. Condor is the name for the same system sitting with human pilots on large multi-crew aircraft.
Ceiling. The homepage label is “$105M / USSOCOM Contract Ceiling.” The 5 March 2026 design-review note says an IDIQ “valued at up to $105 million.” The 18 September 2026 SkyCourier note says the same ceiling. None of those pages say that $105 million has been paid.
Cash and revenue. The 18 August 2026 recap says second-quarter revenue was $2.2 million, mostly IDIQ task orders, and cash and short-term investments were $183.9 million, with no debt. That revenue is not the ceiling.
Concept or plan. SkyCourier UX is a concept with a floor model. The IAI cargo agreement is a non-binding MOU. Kerikeri commercial service in 2027, and Hanscom operations in early 2027, are goals on the pages. The Air Force CRADA is research, not a production buy.
Newest context is above. The lines below are in date order. Each one links to a page fetched for this pass. Merlin’s market forecasts on the Condor page (2,340 freighters today, 3,900 by 2043, 1,840 passenger-to-freighter conversions) are a forecast on that page, not aircraft Merlin has on order.
2019 · year only, no day on the page
Merlin says it has been flying its AI-enabled autonomy system since 2019. The page does not name the aircraft. Going-public note, 14 August 2025.
16 September 2021 · certification basis, not a type certificate
PR Newswire: the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand approved the certification basis for Merlin’s takeoff-to-touchdown autonomy system, in a joint project with the FAA. Merlin says this was the first agreement on an approach for certifying aircraft autonomy. An onboard safety pilot remains legal pilot in command. PR Newswire, 16 September 2021. Merlin’s later note dates the same groundwork to September 2021. Experimental certificate note, 22 May 2025.
May 2023 · facility and SOI 1, from later Merlin pages
The 22 May 2025 note says the Kerikeri test facility opened in May 2023. The 28 October 2025 note says SOI 1 with CAA New Zealand was previously announced in May 2023: regulator acceptance of planning documents, on a Cessna Grand Caravan 208B supplemental type certificate path with the FAA. 22 May 2025 · 28 October 2025. The May 2025 note also lists a Part 135 air operator certificate and a Part 145 maintenance certificate as milestones since Kerikeri opened. It does not give those certificates their own dates.
June 2024 · month only
First platform integration and systems-on test flight of the certification-ready Cessna Caravan, Merlin Pilot aboard, human safety pilot supervising. Merlin dates that flight to June 2024 on a later test-campaign note. Flight-test note, 8 May 2025.
IDIQ award day · not on a page retrieved
The live homepage labels $105 million as a “USSOCOM Contract Ceiling,” with no date. Later Merlin pages call it an IDIQ valued at up to $105 million. The Business Wire award release did not load on this pass, so no award day is stated here.
17 February 2025 · USAF tanker work, not a fleet buy
Company update on KC-135 work announced “last year”: a system requirements review, a concept of operations for natural-language processing in aerial refueling, and pilot working groups, with more sessions then planned at MacDill. Progress notes, not a purchase of tankers. Tanker update.
18 February 2025
Merlin and Quikjet announced an in-flight pilot fatigue study using wearable data and a vigilance test. A study, not an aircraft program. Quikjet note.
19 March 2025 · FAA TSO, not an install
FAA Technical Standard Order authorization for a custom remote data concentrator built with Shadin Avionics. Merlin says that, once certified, it is adaptable to types including the C-130J and the KC-135. Adaptable is not installed. RDC note.
1 May 2025 · Quonset
East-coast flight operations at Quonset State Airport (OQU), North Kingstown, Rhode Island. The note says the facility houses two Cessna Caravans, including the certification-ready aircraft for the supplemental type certificate program. Quonset note.
8 May 2025
From Quonset, Merlin says it was validating flight-guidance and autothrottle on that Caravan, and points back to the June 2024 integration flight. Flight-test note.
22 May 2025 · experimental certificate
Experimental Certificate of Airworthiness from CAA New Zealand, authorizing certification flight testing of the takeoff-to-touchdown platform. It advances the supplemental type certificate program. It is not a completed type certificate. Experimental certificate note.
30 July 2025 · testbed agreement
Agreement with Northrop Grumman to integrate the Merlin Pilot on the Beacon testbed. Merlin says it will support software-in-the-loop and flight test on the Scaled Composites Model 437, with people on site in Mojave. The same note says Merlin is prime with USSOCOM for integrating autonomy on the C-130J and is “rapidly advancing” KC-135 work. A testbed slot is not a production fleet. Northrop note.
13 August 2025 · agreement signed; close was still a plan
The 17 November 2025 note dates the business-combination agreement to 13 August 2025, with more than $125 million of PIPE commitments at signing, and an expected close in early 2026. Expected was not closed. PIPE upsizing note.
14 August 2025
Merlin’s going-public note: integrations “already well underway” with USSOCOM on the C-130J and the U.S. Air Force on the KC-135, and the stack flown on five aircraft platforms. The five aircraft are not named. Going-public note.
18 September 2025 · Hanscom, planned
Hanscom Field (Bedford, Massachusetts) “will be” the new test-flight center, operations beginning in early 2027. Merlin says it will occupy hangar, office, and lab space in the former Navy hangar, in support of C-130J work with SOCOM and KC-135 work with the Air Force. Early 2027 is a plan. The company page, fetched 4 October 2026, still labels Hanscom “Under Construction.” Hanscom note · Company page.
23 September 2025 · development effort
Merlin and GE Aerospace announced an autonomy-core effort aimed at crew reduction, single-pilot operations, and uncrewed flight. Merlin cites GE’s flight-management footprint of more than 14,000 aircraft. That figure is GE’s installed base on the page, not a Merlin install count. GE note.
22 October 2025 · CRADA, not a production contract
Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the U.S. Air Force on autonomous contingency management: fault detection, recovery, and mission adaptation. A research agreement. It does not state a dollar ceiling. CRADA note.
28 October 2025 · SOI 2
Stage of Involvement 2 with CAA New Zealand. Merlin says about 50 percent of the flight-control-computer software data had been reviewed. Caravan 208B supplemental type certificate, concurrent FAA path. Not a finished certificate. SOI 2 note.
17 November 2025 · commitments, not all cash in the door
PIPE commitments increased to more than $200 million, of which over $85 million had already been funded. Commitments are not the same as cash received. PIPE upsizing note.
19 February 2026 · contract value, not cash
Shareholder letter: “over $100 million in total contract value,” primarily from being selected to bring autonomy to the C-130J. Contract value is not money received. Shareholder letter.
5 March 2026 · preliminary design review
Merlin announced completion of the Preliminary Design Review for the C-130J autonomy program with USSOCOM. The note says the IDIQ is “valued at up to $105 million” and that the review cleared the move into critical design. Up to $105 million is a ceiling, not cash. PDR note.
12, 16, and 17 March 2026 · listing
Stockholders of Inflection Point Acquisition Corp. IV approved the combination on 12 March. It closed 16 March. Trading as Merlin, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRLN) began 17 March. The note says approximately $200 million in gross proceeds and an $800 million pre-money value. Gross proceeds are not a cash balance. Closing note.
23 April 2026 · scoping, not a program
One Brain, dated 24 September 2026, lists an exclusive teaming agreement with Remah International Group “to scope autonomy opportunities in the UAE.” Scoping is not a fleet award. No separate Remah release was fetched. One Brain.
29 April 2026 · $80 million PIPE
One Brain lists an $80 million PIPE investment from an existing institutional shareholder. The newsroom index lists the GlobeNewswire release the same day. The wire body was not fetched; the figure used here is the one on Merlin’s page. One Brain · Newsroom index.
14 May 2026 · product introduction, not deliveries
One Brain: Merlin introduced Condor, a product family for large multi-crew aircraft, and “unveiled plans” for commercial-cargo autonomy with World Star Aviation. Plans are not aircraft delivered. The Condor page says Merlin is “planning to bring Condor” to commercial cargo with World Star, and that the same system is being tested under contract with USSOCOM on the C-130J. One Brain · Condor page.
4 June 2026 · critical design review
One Brain dates completion of the C-130J critical design review with USSOCOM to 4 June, and says it lays groundwork to move from design into aircraft integration. The 5 June note says the same review advances the program into integration activities. The August earnings recap quotes management: next steps are integration, ground testing, and flight testing. Those steps were still ahead. One Brain · 5 June note · Q2 recap.
10 June 2026 · a 2027 goal
Merlin’s goal is commercial autonomous revenue service from Kerikeri in 2027, on a traditionally crewed fixed-wing aircraft. The page says no such aircraft has done that yet, and that Merlin has logged hundreds of autonomous test flights. A goal, and “hundreds,” not a fleet count. New Zealand 2027 note.
17 July 2026 · the landing; 20 July · the announcement
Affirm, posted 24 July: a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan with the Merlin Pilot landed autonomously on Runway 27 at 10:02 a.m. CDT on 17 July at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. A Merlin test pilot was in the cockpit. One Brain and the newsroom date the announcement 20 July. Affirm · One Brain.
23 July 2026 · non-binding
Memorandum of understanding with Israel Aerospace Industries to work toward autonomy for commercial cargo and for Condor. Merlin calls it non-binding: joint exploration, engineering, regulatory preparation, and platform selection, toward a later definitive agreement. Not an order. IAI note. One Brain describes the same MOU as covering Part 25 freighter operations. One Brain.
6 August 2026 · SOI 3
Merlin says it reached Stage of Involvement 3 with CAA New Zealand on the flight-control computer and the automated communication system, with the FAA under the bilateral agreement. The 19 August explainer dates the announcement to 6 August. Not a type certificate. SOI 3 explainer · One Brain.
18 August 2026 · quarter, from Merlin’s recap
Second-quarter recap of the earnings materials: revenue $2.2 million, up $1.2 million from the first quarter, “substantial majority” under the defense IDIQ as task orders were funded and work was performed. GAAP net loss $58.4 million. Adjusted EBITDA loss $27.8 million, versus $23.3 million in the first quarter. Cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments $183.9 million, and no debt. The CFO’s quoted line says that cash figure is up $60.8 million from the first quarter. Near-term revenue is “tied to” progress on the C-130J IDIQ, then in the integration phase. The CFO says the company believes current resources fund growth into fiscal 2028, on current operating-plan assumptions. That is a belief, not a guarantee. Revenue is not the $105 million ceiling. Q2 recap.
24 August and 26 August 2026 · Part 146, dates disagree
The newsroom index lists the Part 146 designation release on 24 August 2026. One Brain, posted 24 September, dates the designation 26 August. The GlobeNewswire body did not load, so this page does not pick a day. Both dates stay. The title on the index is designation as a New Zealand Part 146 aircraft design organization. Newsroom index · One Brain.
9 September 2026 · a strategy, not a Part 25 certificate
Merlin says it is moving its civil certification strategy to large aircraft. The note says the New Zealand small-aircraft program reached SOI 3 and a Stage 4 issue paper on AI/ML natural-language processing with CAA New Zealand. It does not say a large-aircraft certificate has been issued. Large-aircraft strategy.
10 September 2026 · a demo at a kickoff
Merlin took part in the Project NEXUS kickoff at Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance, the Texas program under the FAA eVTOL Integration Pilot Program. The 21 September note says TxDOT asked Merlin to demonstrate. That is a demo at the kickoff, not a line that Merlin is the program. eIPP note, 21 September.
14 September 2026 · a concept
Textron Aviation and Merlin introduced a Cessna SkyCourier UX concept at Air, Space and Cyber, shown as a floor model. Merlin’s page calls it a concept. It does not, on the pages fetched, say “program of record” or “flying demonstrator.” Do not upgrade it. SkyCourier note. The 18 September quick take repeats the concept and states the C-130J IDIQ ceiling of $105 million. SkyCourier quick take.
18 September 2026 · a job, not a hangar lease
Lever posting, datePosted 2026-09-18: Aircraft Modification Manager, Smithfield, Rhode Island, Flight Test – Flight Operations, full time, on-site. The posting says the person must be willing to work on the hangar floor, on the aircraft, and in the office. It does not say temporary, and it does not state a lease, a headcount, or aircraft based there. Smithfield is not Quonset, and it is not Hanscom. Lever posting.
24 and 30 September 2026 · how Merlin describes the business
One Brain, 24 September: one software core for civil and military aircraft; C-130J under military airworthiness; the IAI cargo work would sit under Part 25. One Seat at a Time, 30 September: crew reduction and full autonomy are one engineering program; the company expects a recurring license fee after integration. An expectation, not a reported license-revenue line. One Brain · One Seat at a Time.
4 October 2026 (ET). Newsroom index (74 items, dates and external links) plus the article bodies linked above, and the home, company, pilot, Condor, and careers pages via Merlin’s page data. Also PR Newswire, 16 September 2021, and the Lever posting. Business Wire and GlobeNewswire bodies timed out; where a figure is used, it is the figure on the Merlin page, not a wire paragraph we did not get.
13
Dated hyperlinks to primary materials.
Merlin Labs / issuer PR
Nasdaq Trader
Business Wire
Business Wire
Merlin IR / GlobeNewswire
GlobeNewswire / Merlin IR
SEC EDGAR / Merlin, Inc.
SEC EDGAR
SEC EDGAR / Merlin, Inc.
Merlin Labs
merlinlabs.com
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