Textron Aviation, Merlin team up on autonomous Cessna SkyCourier UX concept aircraft

Textron Aviation partnered with Merlin to develop a Cessna SkyCourier UX concept aircraft integrating Merlin Pilot autonomy software.

The program targets autonomous or pilot-optional resupply missions in contested environments when traditional logistics routes are constrained or unavailable.

The concept uses the FAA-certified, in-production SkyCourier platform to support scalable deployment backed by existing manufacturing and global support infrastructure.

Current objectives call for about 6,000 pounds of payload capacity with operations from austere runways.

Merlin will run engineering studies to assess autonomous resupply operations using the SkyCourier airframe.