Overview
- Merlin announced Thursday that it has completed the Critical Design Review for its C-130J autonomy work with U.S. Special Operations Command, a formal engineering milestone that validates design readiness.
- A Critical Design Review confirms the system design is mature enough to begin hardware integration and structured testing and does not by itself prove operational capability.
- Shares jumped roughly 32% in after-hours trading after the announcement as investors and analysts reacted to the progress and to new coverage from firms including TD Cowen and Roth Capital.
- The company went public via a SPAC in March and reported about $1 million in Q1 2026 revenue with ongoing net losses, so analysts say meaningful revenue depends on successful integration, flight demonstrations, and further contract awards.
- Merlin will now proceed to aircraft integration, ground tests and planned aircraft-level flight campaigns aimed at reducing crew workload, with possible expansion to other military platforms and commercial uses if tests and contracting move forward.