02:24 PM EDT, 06/05/2026 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with recent stock movement in the headline and the first paragraph.)

Merlin (MRLN) shares were up more than 27% in Friday afternoon trading after the company said late Thursday that it completed the critical design review for its C-130J autonomy program with the US Special Operations Command.

This milestone showed the aircraft's autonomous capability and the potential reduction in crew workload during flight, Merlin said.

Under the contract, Merlin is advancing its artificial intelligence-powered autonomy stack onboard the C-130J, it said.

Price: 9.12, Change: +1.94, Percent Change: +27.06