Merlin receives New Zealand design authority certification for autonomy work

Merlin, a company developing autonomous flight systems, said it has received a Part 146 Aircraft Design Organization certificate from New Zealand's Civil Aviation Authority. The certificate lets qualified Merlin engineers approve certain aircraft design changes themselves. Previously, the company had to route those approvals through outside design organizations.

Under New Zealand's Part 146 framework, certificated design organizations can develop approved designs and delegate approval authority to qualified personnel within the company. According to the regulator, the rules set requirements both for such organizations and for the delegation of that authority. The scope of work Merlin is permitted to approve under the certificate will reportedly be agreed with the CAA separately for each certification project.

Merlin CEO Matt George said the company is building a single autonomy system meant for use across many aircraft types. That means the cost of certifying each additional installation matters more than the cost of the first. He described the design authority as a meaningful capability, not a minor add-on, according to the company's announcement.

The certificate follows an earlier milestone this month, when Merlin said it reached Stage of Involvement 3 for the flight control computer and automated communication system that form part of its Merlin Pilot autonomous flight system. New Zealand's CAA is leading that certification effort in coordination with the United States Federal Aviation Administration, under a bilateral aviation safety agreement between the two countries.

Merlin said the Part 146 certificate applies to it as an engineering organization, rather than to any single aircraft program. The company said this reflects its approach of developing one autonomy system for installation across multiple aircraft types.