Merlin Pilot Flew for State and Federal Officials at the Kickoff of Texas’s New eVTOL Integration Program — Here’s Some Color on How to Look at the Event From a Business Perspective

On September 10, Merlin took part in the kickoff of Project NEXUS, the program the Texas Department of Transportation runs under the FAA’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program, at Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport. Our release describes the event and the flight demonstration our CEO Matt George narrated for the federal, congressional and state officials in attendance. Here, we offer four observations from the day that stood out to us.

The Invitation

We were there because TxDOT asked us to be. In March, the FAA and the Secretary of Transportation selected Texas as one of eight programs nationwide working out how new kinds of aircraft will enter the National Airspace System (TxDOT, March 2026). When the people running a program of that scale plan their kickoff, they choose carefully who demonstrates in front of the regulators and elected officials in the audience. TxDOT chose to include autonomy as one of aviation’s showcased capabilities, and Merlin [was asked] to demo it - a good signal about what we think is a growing understanding across the industry by market participants of Merlin’s relevance to the future of aviation.

A First for Us

For more context as to Merlin’s role in the day’s events, it’s helpful to recall that the FAA’s eIPP and TxDOT’s Project Nexus are intended to advance real-world applications of a range of advanced aviation technologies and operational concepts. The future National Airspace System (NAS) will not be defined by a single aircraft type or operating model. It will be a cohesive, cooperative system capable of safely supporting a wide range of operators, vehicle types, and mission profiles. TxDOT’s Project Nexus will help move that vision forward by providing an opportunity to demonstrate these technologies in a holistic setting. Incorporating other forms of advanced aviation, including autonomous aircraft with different mission objectives, provides a more representative picture of how these systems will ultimately interact in the airspace. This broader operational perspective can help demonstrate not only the capabilities of individual technologies, but also how diverse aviation systems can work together safely and cooperatively as the NAS evolves.

Safety

The capabilities we demonstrated, from autonomous takeoff and landing through live communication with air traffic control to replanning around a threat in the air, are responsibilities human pilots carry today. What made the day valuable was the audience. Certification is a safety argument made with operational data in front of regulators, and programs like NEXUS build that record in public. As Tim Burns, our CTO, has noted, this is how autonomy moves from development toward safe deployment at scale, and we believe each demonstration of this kind shortens the distance. Bringing autonomy to commercial aviation doesn’t only mean building highly capable and highly assured software, but helping policymakers and regulators see it for themselves.

Forward-Looking Statements

This post contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including without limitation statements regarding: the anticipated outcomes, timing, and scope of TxDOT’s Project NEXUS and the FAA’s eVTOL and Advanced Air Mobility Integration Pilot Program (eIPP); Merlin’s expectations regarding the capabilities, performance, and applications of the Merlin Pilot autonomy platform; and the anticipated benefits and future development of Merlin’s autonomous flight technology generally. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, assumptions, and projections about future events and trends. These forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including without limitation the risks and uncertainties detailed under the section entitled “Risk Factors” of our final prospectus, dated May 13, 2026, filed with the SEC on May 13, 2026, and our subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, which are available from the SEC. Except as required by applicable law, we undertake no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements after the date of this press release.