<div id="readability-page-1"><div><p>Aerospace and defense technology firm Merlin jumped in premarket trading after announcing that its AI-powered autonomous flight software for the C-130J Super Hercules cargo plane, developed with U.S. Special Operations Command, is moving toward formal testing.</p><p>Merlin wrote in a press release earlier that its AI-powered autonomous flight software has &#34;successfully completed&#34; the critical design review for the C-130J, adding the &#34;milestone positions the program to enter a structured formal test campaign, including aircraft-level testing, reflecting a disciplined systems engineering progression from design through verification.&#34;</p><p>The Merlin AI Pilot will automate flight operations for the C-130J from <strong>takeoff to touchdown and is framed as an </strong>&#34;operating system&#34; for autonomous aviation.</p><blockquote><div dir="ltr" lang="en"><p>Merlin has completed the Critical Design Review for its C-130J autonomy program with @USSOCOM. CDR is the milestone where our government customer reviews the detailed design of the system and accepts it is mature enough to move toward the aircraft. We cleared it.</p><p>Learn more… pic.twitter.com/8OgM9H5it8</p></div>— Merlin (@MerlinAero) June 4, 2026</blockquote><p>The C-130 is the workhorse cargo plane of the U.S. military. The upgraded version, by slapping a &#34;J&#34; on the end, includes:</p><ul><li>Newer turboprop engines</li><li>Six-blade composite propellers</li><li>Digital cockpit and avionics</li><li>Reduced crew requirements</li><li>Better range, climb, speed, and fuel efficiency than older C-130s</li></ul><p>Shares of the micro-cap defense company jumped 28% in premarket trading.</p><p><img width="500" height="274" src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://files.zhedge.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1920,quality=75,format=auto/https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/inline-images/Snag_361397d6.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://files.zhedge.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1920,quality=75,format=auto/https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/inline-images/Snag_361397d6.png"/></p><p>Merlin also pointed out that it is &#34;rapidly advancing its AI-powered autonomy stack onboard the C-130J, with potential pathways for expansion across other Department of War or commercial aviation platforms.&#34;</p><p>The rise of &#34;war unicorns&#34; has been an important theme this year as the Department of War resets its procurement program toward startups and away from big legacy primes.</p><p>Goldman analysts also recognize the rise of defense startups and sat down with Palmer Luckey's Anduril earlier this week. Read the note here.</p></div></div>

MRLN

<p>Merlin 是一家微型市值的國防公司，在盤前交易中其股價上漲了 28%，原因是該公司宣佈其為 C-130J 超級大力士開發的人工智能驅動的自主飛行軟件成功完成了關鍵設計評審。該系統與美國特種作戰司令部合作開發，旨在實現從起飛到着陸的飛行操作自動化，目前已準備好進行正式測試。這個里程碑突顯了 “戰爭獨角獸” 日益增長的趨勢，因為國防部正在將採購重心轉向初創公司</p>

Micro-Cap 'War Unicorn' Merlin Soars After Advancing AI Pilot For C-130 Military Plane

微型股 ‘戰爭獨角獸’Merlin 在推進 C-130 軍用飛機的人工智能試點後股價飆升