Merlin Expands Flight Operations with Move to North Central State Airport
Key Highlights
- ➤Merlin (MRLN) moved U.S. flight operations to North Central State Airport.
- ➤North Central adds hangar capacity and flexibility for Merlin’s expanding fleet and flight testing.
- ➤Merlin’s Beechcraft King Air first flew with the Merlin Pilot this month.
- ➤L-39 Albatros extends Merlin Pilot toward tactical and high-performance military missions.
- ➤C-130J autonomy program carries $100M+ total IDIQ contract ceiling value with USSOCOM.
Expert Statements
Matt George, CEO and founder of Merlin
“Flight testing is central to everything we do, and our infrastructure needs to grow alongside our technology and aircraft fleet.”
Matt George, CEO and founder of Merlin
“North Central State Airport gives us the space and operational flexibility we need for our evolving flight test programs, while bringing these critical operations closer to our Boston headquarters and growing team.”
Matt George, CEO and founder of Merlin
“This move reflects the momentum Merlin has built and our continued investment in the region.”
BOSTON, Oct. 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Merlin, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRLN), an aerospace and defense technology company building the operating system of record for autonomous flight, today announced that it has moved its U.S. flight operations to North Central State Airport in Smithfield, Rhode Island. The move provides the additional hangar capacity and operational flexibility needed to support Merlin’s expanding aircraft fleet and growing flight testing requirements. As part of the transition to North Central, the company has concluded its flight operations at Quonset State Airport.
Merlin’s expanding fleet includes a Beechcraft King Air, which was first flown by the Merlin Pilot this month, as well as an L-39 Albatros, the company’s first owned jet aircraft. The L-39 represents an important opportunity to extend the Merlin Pilot autonomy platform toward tactical mission profiles and other high performance military missions. Together with Merlin’s work on the Cessna 208 Caravan and Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules, these platform integrations give the company a representative range of airframes spanning single- and twin-engine platforms, a military transport aircraft, and a jet. This breadth enables Merlin to mature a versatile autonomy platform across aircraft types and missions its customers operate every day.
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