Also: Starfighters, LIFT’s Commercial eVTOL, UL100E Specs, AE Industrial Acquisition Electra Defense is setting its sights on the movement of smaller loads of cargo and personnel that the military often needs for regular resupply, standard transport, or special ops missions. The company is pitching its EL9 Ultra Short hybrid-electric aircraft to fill that gap where a smaller aircraft could more efficiently do the job of a much larger one. Merlin Labs is preparing to enter the public markets via a merger with Inflection Point Acquisition Corp. IV. Though condensed descriptions may be misleading, Merlin is not building pilotless airplanes. Its flagship system, dubbed the “Merlin Pilot,” is intended to replicate the full workload of a human pilot while operating alongside one in the cockpit. SecTrans Sean P. Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford announced two new test sites for UAS, or unmanned aerial systems. They will be located in the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and Indiana Economic Development Corporation, the first new UAS test sites in almost a decade. All this — and MORE in today’s episode of Airborne-NextGen!!!
