Merlin‑IAI and Airbus Unveil Autonomous Aviation Advances

Autonomous‑flight developer Merlin and Israel Aerospace Industries signed a memorandum of understanding to explore AI‑based systems for commercial cargo aircraft. The partnership will conduct market research, engineering collaboration and regulatory preparation, with the goal of eventually certifying a system that can manage aircraft systems, monitor conditions and handle communications. Merlin CEO Matt Georgescu said, “IAI sits at the center of the global cargo aviation ecosystem.”

At the ILA Berlin air show, Airbus Defence and Space demonstrated its MARS Autonomy software, enabling multiple drones to share a single artificial‑intelligence brain in real time. Two Primoco One 150 UAVs flew autonomously to conduct coordinated surveillance missions. Program manager Thomas Schmitt compared the system to a football team, noting that the drones automatically share detections without human intervention.