News

Flying Magazine • Jack Daleo

Merlin Pilot autonomy platform enters large-cargo market with “Condor” product line while targeting certification for military t

Merlin is rolling out its Merlin Pilot, an AI-powered, aircraft-agnostic autonomy core, starting with large commercial cargo aircraft via a new “Condor” product line. The company says it is adapting the same platform for large multi-crew civil and military airframes and is pursuing certification work for military transport applications.

2026-05-14T10:50:57.055655-07:00

SpaceNews.com

Earth-observation data bottlenecks: rising imagery volumes collide with on-orbit collection, secure storage and AI-ready analyti

2026-05-14T04:20:51.336205-07:00

AINonline

Hamilton AI expands charter platform with banking, dispatch and broker tooling

2026-05-14T06:28:53.712838-07:00

Aviation Source

Bitlux pilots AI-driven planning for long-haul private-jet operations

2026-05-13T17:13:16.903371-07:00

News Timeline

Flying Magazine

❗️

Merlin Pilot autonomy platform enters large-cargo market with “Condor” product line while targeting certification for military t Merlin is rolling out its Merlin Pilot, an AI-powered, aircraft-agnostic autonomy core, starting with large commercial cargo aircraft via a new “Condor” product line. The company says it is adapting the same platform for large multi-crew civil and military airframes and is pursuing certification work for military transport applications.

2026-05-14T10:50:57.055655-07:00

Merlin Pilot autonomy platform enters large-cargo market with “Condor” product line while targeting certification for military t

AINonline

Hamilton AI expands charter platform with banking, dispatch and broker tooling Hamilton AI, led by a Joby/Uber Elevate veteran, is adding banking, dispatch, and broker functions to its aircraft charter platform. The upgrades are designed to streamline the back end of charter transactions and operations as the company prepares multiple launches in the first quarter.

2026-05-14T06:28:53.712838-07:00

Hamilton AI expands charter platform with banking, dispatch and broker tooling

SpaceNews.com

Earth-observation data bottlenecks: rising imagery volumes collide with on-orbit collection, secure storage and AI-ready analyti As Earth-observation satellite deployments expand and sensors become more sophisticated, the data generated is outpacing the infrastructure needed to store, secure and analyse it. The result is a growing “data-in-orbit” problem—where access, processing pipelines and governance matter as much as launch cadence.

2026-05-14T04:20:51.336205-07:00

Earth-observation data bottlenecks: rising imagery volumes collide with on-orbit collection, secure storage and AI-ready analyti

Aviation Source

Bitlux pilots AI-driven planning for long-haul private-jet operations Bitlux says AI is not reducing the underlying complexity of long-haul private-jet planning, but it helps structure the workflow so teams can execute faster and with tighter control. The company positions AI as an operational planning accelerator rather than a replacement for established processes.

2026-05-13T17:13:16.903371-07:00

Bitlux pilots AI-driven planning for long-haul private-jet operations

AeroTime

Google in talks with SpaceX to launch “Project Suncatcher” tests for space-based AI data centers Reports say Google and SpaceX are in discussions to launch orbital AI data centers, advancing “Project Suncatcher” as a route to space-hosted compute. The effort would position SpaceX as a preferred launch partner for on-orbit testing that could reshape AI infrastructure requirements and architectures.

2026-05-13T13:57:47.751602-07:00

Google in talks with SpaceX to launch “Project Suncatcher” tests for space-based AI data centers

Aviation Week

USAF awards $18.5M Aevex contract for autonomous one-way attack drones and engineering support The U.S. Air Force has awarded Aevex an $18.5 million contract for autonomous one-way attack drones and associated support services. Aevex, which has supplied thousands of similar systems to Ukraine, is positioned to deliver expendable strike capability as the USAF scales uncrewed autonomy and engineering support.

2026-05-13T11:36:11.175536-07:00

USAF awards $18.5M Aevex contract for autonomous one-way attack drones and engineering support

Flying Magazine

❗️

United Airlines Ventures backs Enhanced Radar to scale enterprise radar/ATC software for airport and airline customers United Airlines Ventures has invested in Enhanced Radar, funding refinement of the startup’s enterprise software for airport and airline users. The support is aimed at improving how the company delivers its radar-related capabilities into day-to-day operational workflows across aviation customer environments.

2026-05-13T08:31:11.856276-07:00

United Airlines Ventures backs Enhanced Radar to scale enterprise radar/ATC software for airport and airline customers

Financial Times

Anduril raises $5B and doubles valuation to ~$61B as it scales autonomous warship operations in Seattle Anduril said it raised $5 billion in a round led by Thrive Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, doubling its valuation to about $61 billion in under a year. The company linked the financing to “aggressive” investment plans spanning manufacturing capacity, R&D and infrastructure to produce advanced defense systems, including autonomous warship operations in Seattle.

2026-05-13T01:23:12.090665-07:00

Anduril raises $5B and doubles valuation to ~$61B as it scales autonomous warship operations in Seattle

Menu

AI News

Merlin Pilot autonomy platform enters large-cargo market with “Condor” product line while targeting certification for military t

Earth-observation data bottlenecks: rising imagery volumes collide with on-orbit collection, secure storage and AI-ready analyti

Hamilton AI expands charter platform with banking, dispatch and broker tooling

Bitlux pilots AI-driven planning for long-haul private-jet operations

News Timeline