US technology company Honeywell and Merlin, an autonomous flight systems developer, have announced a partnership aimed at advancing aircraft autonomy.
The collaboration involves integrating Merlin’s non-human pilot system, Merlin Pilot, with Honeywell Anthem’s advanced avionics suite.
It is expected to alleviate pilot workloads and improve operational efficiency, particularly for special mission aircraft.
Honeywell said its Honeywell Anthem system offers an intuitive user interface and sophisticated flight management capabilities, which will complement Merlin Pilot’s advanced automation.
The partnership is set to initially focus on retrofitting fixed-wing military aircraft, with the potential to extend to other commercial and military platforms.
The goal is to enable reduced crew operations and eventually achieve uncrewed flight, enhancing existing aircraft operations by reducing the necessity for multiple pilots.
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The alliance comes on the heels of Merlin securing a $105m production contract from the United States Special Operations Command and forming partnerships with Air Mobility Command and Air Force Materiel Command to integrate Merlin Pilot on the C-130J and KC-135 aircraft, respectively.
Honeywell Aerospace Technologies president of electronic solutions Bob Buddecke said: “This collaboration will benefit the military significantly, as this autonomy solution helps alleviate the pilot shortage by reducing the number of pilots required for certain aircraft operations.
“By enabling single-pilot operations and automating key tasks, this partnership provides a scalable and safe solution to ease pilot workload and optimise fleet operations for both the military and commercial aviation industry.”
Merlin CEO and founder Matt George said: “The safety and scalability of the aviation industry is highly dependent on the progressive advancement of autonomous capabilities. This partnership is an important step for Merlin and Honeywell to bring this technology to commercial and military aircraft, starting with single pilot operations.
“Honeywell is a respected company in aerospace, and paired with Merlin, together we will be able to significantly advance pilot efficiency and create a safer aviation ecosystem.”
In September 2024, Honeywell joined forces with Qualcomm Technologies to create an artificial intelligence-enabled intelligent agent for mobile devices, aimed at boosting efficiency in distribution centres and retail environments.
This multi-modal solution aims to facilitate natural interactions on mobile devices through images, voice, and barcodes.
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