Aerospace firm Natilus has secured $28m in funding that it hopes will allow it to build its regional cargo drone in the next 24 months.
The US company said that the Series A finanacing was led by Draper Associates and includes strategic investors with a focus on aerospace, defence, and global freight logistics including: Type One Ventures, The Veterans Fund, and Flexport.
The company said that it would use the money to complete manufacturing of its first full-scale prototype of regional cargo blended-wing plane KONA, which is expected to fly in the next 24 months.
The model can carry 3.8 tons of cargo and can be operated either manned or unmanned.
The KONA can land on shorter, gravel runways, meaning it can transport cargo to remote locations. Meanwhile, the company claimed that its blended-wing aircraft design can reduce fuel usage by 30%, and carbon emissions and operating costs by 50%.
News of the fuding is one of a series of developments over the past year. In July, it was awarded a patent for KONA’s diamond-shaped cargo bay and in March, it initiated the launch of its first domestic manufacturing site search that will be able to build around 60 KONA per year.
In a press release, the company said that aircraft demand levels are outpacing the manufacturing capabilities of Boeing and Airbus.
“The aviation market is ripe for a new aircraft manufacturing entrant,” said Tim Draper, founding partner of Draper Associates.
“Natilus’s innovative and technology-driven approach to developing blended wing aircraft has opened the doors for airfreight and passenger airlines alike to embrace these new planes.”
Aleksey Matyushev, co-founder and chief executive of Natilus, added: “We’re not just building aircraft. We’re reshaping the future of aviation beyond the limitations of the tube-and-wing airframe to fundamentally transform how we transport goods and people.
“With this latest funding and newest personnel additions, we are strongly positioned to bring our family of blended-wing aircraft to market, disrupting the Boeing-Airbus duopoly and bringing much-needed innovation to the aviation industry.”
Natilus will also use the fuding to further invest in the development of its second aircraft, HORIZON EVO, a 200 passenger aircraft intended to compete with the Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A321-neo.
Currently, Natilus’s commercial product order book stands at 570 aircraft, with reservations from companies such as SpiceJet, Nolinor Aviation, Flexport, and Ameriflight.
