(NEW ZEALAND) New Zealand’s aviation regulator has cleared a major hurdle for autonomous flight, awarding Merlin an Experimental Certificate of Airworthiness that allows formal test flights of the Merlin Pilot Autonomy System on fixed‑wing aircraft, including a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan. The Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand (CAANZ) decision advances Merlin’s bid for full regulatory approval of takeoff‑to‑landing autonomous operations and puts the country at the center of a fast‑moving push to bring pilotless capability to commercial aviation.
The certification step coincides with Merlin reaching the second Stage of Involvement, known as SOI 2, in the DO‑178 software audit process with CAANZ. In a statement dated October 28, 2025, the company said SOI 2 marks formal regulatory review of roughly half of its flight‑control software, giving the regulator deeper visibility into how the safety‑critical code is designed and built. That review matters because the Merlin Pilot Autonomy System depends on tightly controlled software and integrated avionics to manage flight from takeoff through landing under a variety of real‑world scenarios.
Merlin is running the certification campaign in parallel with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration under a Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement and is targeting a Supplemental Type Certificate, or STC, for the Cessna Grand Caravan platform. STC approval would let Merlin’s autonomy kit be installed on certified aircraft for commercial use, starting with cargo runs and expanding to other missions as regulators and operators gain confidence. The coordination with the FAA helps align validation paths and reduces the risk of duplicated testing while still meeting each authority’s safety standards.
At the center of the test program is “Big Red,” a Merlin‑owned Cessna Grand Caravan 208B that has been retrofitted with the full autonomy stack. The aircraft carries a digital glass cockpit, refreshed avionics, and digital servo motors to actuate control surfaces so the Merlin Pilot Autonomy System can fly the plane without direct human control. Those hardware changes allow the autonomy core to sense, decide, and command, while test pilots monitor performance during flights and gather data for the regulators’ audits.
Merlin’s New Zealand work is anchored in Kerikeri, where the company opened a dedicated test facility in May 2023. The site supports both organizational and product certification tracks and has become a focal point for flight operations, data analysis, and regulator engagement. To prepare for commercial service, Merlin has also secured a Part 135 Air Operator Certificate to conduct freight operations and a Part 145 Maintenance Certificate to service its aircraft, positioning the company to transition from testing into revenue operations if and when approvals are granted.
CAANZ’s oversight reaches beyond paperwork. The authority’s involvement includes risk management and intelligence functions that reflect growing confidence in Merlin’s ability to run autonomous systems safely under New Zealand’s rules. The regulator has also approved test pilots for the company’s program, allowing Merlin to fly multiple aircraft at once, which accelerates data collection and shortens the time needed to close out certification milestones. That ability to scale test sorties matters as the company moves from initial flight trials to more complex operational demonstrations.
Company leaders framed the latest approvals as validation of both the engineering work and the decision to pursue certification in New Zealand while syncing with U.S. authorities.
“This certification in New Zealand represents a strong vote of confidence from CAANZ and is a major technical milestone in our certification journey. The testing carried out in the region plays a crucial role in advancing the maturity of our platform and directly supports in-air operability and certification efforts not only with the CAANZ, but also with the FAA,” said Matt George, CEO and founder of Merlin.
His comments highlight the twin goals of proving the Merlin Pilot Autonomy System in live flight and ensuring the test evidence satisfies both regulators.
Tim Burns, chief technology officer at Merlin, said the software audit progress is a direct result of process discipline.
“SOI 2 reflects the disciplined engineering and certification practices our team has put in place. Each stage of this process deepens regulator confidence, reduces program risk, and advances the Merlin Pilot toward certification and real-world operations.”
The DO‑178 framework sets a high bar for aviation software, and moving through SOI gates is a visible sign to regulators and industry partners that the system’s design and verification steps are meeting the required standards.
The near‑term objective is to continue flight testing while auditors review software artifacts and safety analyses, building toward full certification for commercial cargo operations in New Zealand and, via validation, internationally. Merlin’s roadmap includes adapting the Merlin Pilot Autonomy System to additional aircraft types and steadily automating more functions, with an ultimate target of fully autonomous flights without a safety pilot on board. While timelines depend on regulators, the combination of expanded flight data, concurrent authority involvement, and structured software audits is designed to keep the program moving.
Merlin’s progress lands amid a broader wave of automated aviation efforts worldwide. Companies such as Joby Aviation and Reliable Robotics are advancing parallel technologies, from electric vertical takeoff aircraft to retrofit autonomy kits for existing planes. Merlin has secured more than $100 million in defense contracts and is working with GE Aerospace to expand its autonomy core for both civil and military uses, signaling that its architecture is intended to scale across platforms and missions. For New Zealand, the clustering of development activity and regulator engagement strengthens its standing as a testbed for new aviation technology and as a jurisdiction willing to bring autonomy into the conventional certification system.
The Experimental Certificate of Airworthiness does not grant blanket commercial privileges; instead, it authorizes structured test flights under defined conditions to demonstrate safety and performance. That controlled environment lets Merlin and CAANZ probe edge cases, refine human‑machine interfaces, and verify how the autonomy responds to failures or unexpected situations. With SOI 2 achieved, Merlin can align flight test objectives with software verification goals so that the evidence from the aircraft directly supports audit findings, reducing rework and shortening the path to later approval stages.
New Zealand’s regulatory infrastructure is a key part of why the program is advancing at pace. CAANZ’s ability to approve test pilots for autonomy trials and to oversee simultaneous flight operations across multiple aircraft gives Merlin a way to gather a large volume of data quickly. That approach is particularly important for autonomy, which relies on exposure to varied conditions—weather, traffic, and operational constraints—to show reliability. The Kerikeri facility, with local airspace and ground support tailored to test operations, serves as a hub for those sorties and for rapid iteration on software updates and avionics changes.
Merlin’s technical configuration on the Cessna Grand Caravan aims to fit within known certification tracks even as it adds new capabilities. By seeking an STC, the company is not asking regulators to certify a brand‑new aircraft; it is asking them to certify a modification to a proven platform. The retrofit strategy, reflected in the digital glass cockpit, new avionics, and digital servo integration, is meant to balance innovation with familiarity for regulators and operators. If the Merlin Pilot Autonomy System gains approval on “Big Red,” the same pattern could be repeated on other 208B aircraft and later adapted to different models, using the accumulated data and certification evidence to support those follow‑on approvals.
The commercial plan begins with cargo, where autonomous operations can deliver clear benefits in network reliability, cost, and reach—especially on underserved regional routes. Merlin’s Part 135 Air Operator Certificate positions the company to conduct freight missions once the autonomy is certified, while the Part 145 Maintenance Certificate provides the in‑house capability to maintain the test fleet and eventual commercial aircraft. In practice, that means the company can transition from test cards to cargo manifests without building a separate operational structure, provided the regulators are satisfied the autonomy meets the required safety margin.
For the regulator, the parallel FAA validation under the Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement offers a pragmatic way to ensure that New Zealand’s approvals can be recognized abroad without sacrificing oversight. It also creates a feedback loop in which findings from one authority inform the other, helping harmonize standards for autonomous systems as more companies seek certification. CAANZ has presented its role not only as a certifier but as a manager of program risk, aligning with its mandate to protect public safety while enabling industry development. Readers can find more about the authority’s role and frameworks via the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand.
While the company has not published a firm date for first commercial flights, the immediate next steps are clear: keep flying “Big Red” in test campaigns tied to SOI requirements, address any findings from audits, and expand trials under the Experimental Certificate of Airworthiness. The company says it will use the Kerikeri base to support those runs and to coordinate with CAANZ on test plans and data reviews, while maintaining alignment with the FAA’s validation needs to support STC issuance.
Merlin has set expectations that the Merlin Pilot Autonomy System will evolve through software updates and additional aircraft integrations as certification progresses. The company describes an end state in which a safety pilot is no longer necessary, but reaching that stage will require regulators to be comfortable with autonomous decision‑making in complex airspace and with the system’s response to contingencies. For now, the combination of New Zealand’s Experimental Certificate of Airworthiness and the SOI 2 milestone give Merlin the regulatory runway to prove its approach in the air, with the goal of translating test results into approvals that enable cargo operations first and broader applications later.
Merlin listed a media contact for further inquiries: Kate Gundry of Merlin Labs, reachable at +1 617‑797‑5174 and [email protected]. The company’s leaders, meanwhile, insist the path forward depends on continuing to meet the high bar set by aviation software and system safety standards. As George put it,
“This certification in New Zealand represents a strong vote of confidence from CAANZ and is a major technical milestone in our certification journey,”
and Burns added,
“SOI 2 reflects the disciplined engineering and certification practices our team has put in place.”
If the test program stays on track and regulators remain satisfied, New Zealand could become one of the first places where an autonomy retrofit like Merlin’s shifts from experimental flights to everyday freight operations.
This Article in a Nutshell
Merlin received an Experimental Certificate of Airworthiness from CAANZ to fly its Merlin Pilot Autonomy System on a retrofitted Cessna 208B, advancing toward full autonomous takeoff‑to‑landing certification. On October 28, 2025, Merlin announced reaching SOI 2 in the DO‑178 audit, giving regulators formal review of roughly half its flight‑control software. Tests are centered at Kerikeri, New Zealand; Merlin seeks an STC for commercial retrofit deployment and coordinates validation with the FAA to support international recognition and faster certification.
