Merlin Labs is pleased to announce that the certification basis for its takeoff to touchdown autonomy system has been approved by the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand (CAA), in a joint project with the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Achieving this important program milestone makes Merlin the first company to reach an agreement on an approach for the certification of aircraft autonomy. Following a crawl, walk, run approach, this system incorporates an onboard safety pilot who will continue to act as legal pilot in command.

"We're thrilled to become the first company to receive a certification basis for a takeoff-to-touchdown flight system," said Shaun Johnson, CEO Merlin NZ. "The CAA's decision clearly puts Merlin ahead of any other company in the world in bringing full autonomy to the skies."

Approving a certification basis, along with the overarching program certification plan, signifies the CAA's confidence in Merlin's personnel, approach, timeline, management of program risk, and ability to deliver on certification outcomes. It is a critical milestone on the path to bringing autonomously piloted aircraft to the skies.

Cindy Comer, Vice President of Certification and Quality at Merlin Labs, emphasised Merlin's commitment to working closely with airworthiness authorities throughout the certification process.

"We believe it's essential to engage early and often with regulators," Comer said. "We've spent a lot of time with the CAA and FAA to make them aware of how we're developing our system and tackling various challenges. Especially with a first-of-its kind technology like ours, we appreciate the need to make this a collaborative process that ultimately optimises aviation safety."

Merlin will continue to work with regulators in validating its approach and meeting the remaining regulatory benchmarks. At its current pace, the company expects to see autonomous flights that can take off, navigate, land, and converse with air traffic control as soon as 2023.

"We still have a lot of work ahead, but we also have the talent across our certification, engineering, design, R&D, and flight test teams to get us past unexpected hurdles and, one day, achieve full flight autonomy," said Matthew George, Merlin Co-Founder and CEO.