Today, we’re proud to share that Merlin has signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the United States Air Force (USAF) to advance autonomous capabilities that will improve mission resilience and adaptability in contested and degraded environments. The work will combine operational insight from the USAF with Merlin’s expertise in autonomy architecture, human-machine teaming, and advanced mission software, leveraging the company’s position as the leading defense prime contractor for AI in aviation and its recently announced path to go public through a business combination with Inflection Point Acquisition Corp. IV (Nasdaq: BACQ) to accelerate autonomy on military platforms. The result of this work will be design enhancements that improve mission assurance, reduce operator workload, and create greater survivability across diverse operational scenarios.

Merlin and the USAF will explore 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. The collaboration will emphasize open, modular solutions designed to benefit a wide range of future USAF and industry platforms, reinforcing the value of government-owned architectures and shared technical frameworks.

“Contingency management is essential to achieving the Air Force’s vision of trusted, resilient autonomy,” said Chris Gentile, General Manager for Tactical Autonomy, 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. 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.”

“To maintain our strategic advantage, the Air Force must leverage the ingenuity of industry partners like Merlin,” said Major Dustin Graves, AFWERX. “This CRADA 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.”