Commercial drones moving cargo beyond small amounts of pharmaceuticals are inching closer in the US.

The authorities there are considering proposals for drone corridors, and FedEx is targeting 2023 for trials of the Chaparral autonomous aircraft between its sort centres.

A startup is developing a full-size aircraft that will be capable of delivering large amounts of freight both quickly and cheaply.

There are two main ways to move freight internationally – by air and by sea. While sea freight is 13 times less expensive than air freight, it is also 50 times slower. Aeronautics start-up Natilus hopes to change this dynamic by developing an autonomous cargo aircraft that can offer the speed of air freight at a cost closer to that of sea freight. If successful, the result could lead to a dramatic disruption of the freight industry.

Read the entire article on SpringWise.com.

Third-party logistics provider Flexport, flush with fresh investor funding, has tentatively ordered two large autonomous cargo jets with a 100-ton payload from startup aircraft manufacturer Natilus, part of a strategic effort to enhance customer service by directly controlling more transport capacity. But it’s more a case of making a trial investment than a big bet on a concrete technology.

Read the entire article on FreightWaves.com.

The demand for air freight capacities is high worldwide, which is why new approaches in logistics are being considered everywhere. The US start-up Natilus proposes a new form of cargo drone designed to move goods more efficiently through the air. 

Read the entire article on ndion.de.

Aleksey Matyushev, co-founder and CEO of Natilus, discusses the significance of the US$6 billion worth of pre-order for its unmanned aerial vehicles, the timeline for the delivery of Natilus autonomous aircraft and how the company intends to offer a compelling alternative cargo transport solution that is environmentally more sustainable and economically more viable.

From Da Vinci’s first flying machine drawings in the 1480s, Nicolas Woyevodsky’s initial blended wing endeavors in the 1920s, to the rapid developments in drone and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles today, the desire to fly has always been strong, yet for the past three-quarters of a century, the way we do it commercially has pretty much remained the same. Until now? “Natilus is reinventing the 75-year-old status quo of freight transportation through innovation and advanced technologies, to make air freight costs competitive to cargo shipping and dramatically improve delivery times,” the company proclaims as its vision.

Natilus is an aircraft company with a difference, and that difference was recently rewarded with advance purchase commitments of more than USD 6 billion for the delivery of 440+ aircraft in pre-orders. Yet, who or what is Natilus exactly?

Raise the volume, drop the costs
Co-founded in 2016 by Aleksey Matyushev and Anatoly Star, two San Francisco Bay Area-based aircraft design engineers who previously worked at Piper Aircraft together, Natilus’ mission is to disrupt and innovate “the design of freight transport aircraft to increase cargo volume by 60%, while cutting costs by 60%, and lowering carbon emissions by half.” Talk is of a family of large, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), completely different in aerodynamic design to what is on the freighter market today, that will “make air freight costs competitive to cargo shipping and dramatically improve delivery times.” And the planes, themselves, will also cost just a fraction of what similar conventional aircraft cost. CEO, Aleksey Matyushev quotes USD 7 million per smallest aircraft in the family, compared to USD 26 million for similar-sized, established planes.

Read the entire article on CargoForwarderGlobal.

Natilus has developed a patent-pending “Diamond” cargo-bay, and has a high wing configuration allowing you to stack containers like a truck trailer instead of having all the gaps along the fuselage. You can stack things up against the sides, carry oversized equipment, and utilize the empty space that is wasted in traditional planes. Natilus says they can get 60% more volume than a traditional airplane and it is more fuel efficient.

Autonomous cargo drone developer Natilus has announced advanced purchase commitments of more than $6bn for the delivery of 440+ aircraft in pre-orders.

Orders are from companies including Volatus Aerospace, Astral Aviation, Aurora, Dymond and Flexport.

Earlier this month, Flexport completed a $900m investment round and has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) for two 100T Natilus aircraft, with an option for a third.

California-based Natilus, which said it is producing the world’s first purposefully designed and manufactured autonomous aircraft for airfreight transport, aims for its aircraft range to increase cargo volume by 60%, while cutting costs by 60% and lowering carbon emissions by half.

Read the entire article on AirCargoNews.

California-based Natilus has developed a remotely piloted cargo freighter that is expected to begin deliveries in 2025 and is designed to compete with traditional freighters. Canadian drone services and manufacturing company Volatus Aerospace in January secured the first production delivery slot for Natilus’ N3.8T cargo freighter, the companies announced Jan. 25.

Read the entire article on AirCargoWorld.com.

• Natilus announces $6 billion in advance purchase commitments from Volatus Aerospace, Flexport, Astral Aviation, Aurora International and Dymond
• First company to design and manufacture innovative aircraft that will accommodate 60% more volume.
• Company pledges 60% reduction in cost and 50% fewer carbon emissions

SAN DIEGO, CA (February 9, 2022) – Natilus, a U.S. company producing the world’s first purposefully designed and manufactured autonomous aircraft for air freight transport, has announced advanced purchase commitments of more than $6 billion for the delivery of 440+ aircraft in pre-orders, from companies including major airlines and integrators: Volatus Aerospace, Astral Aviation, Aurora International, Dymond, Flexport, and others to be announced. Last week, Flexport completed a $900 million investment round and has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) for two 100T Natilus aircraft, with an option for a third.

Natilus was co-founded by Aleksey Matyushev and Anatoly Starikov in 2016. The innovative design of the family of Natilus cargo aircraft is democratizing freight transport, not by converting existing passenger aircraft but by innovating the design freight transport aircraft to increase cargo volume by 60%, while cutting costs by 60% and lowering carbon emissions by half.

“In parallel with the development of our family of autonomous aircraft, we are working closely with customers to increase the efficiency of air transportation and make it more competitive and safer than ocean shipping,” stated CEO Aleksey Matyushev. “Today, there are only two ways to move cargo internationally: by air and by sea. The difference between the cost and time of these two modes of transportation is dramatic. Sea freight is currently 13 times less expensive than air freight; but 50 times slower in delivery. Natilus intends to revolutionize the transport industry by providing the timeliness of air freight at an affordable cost reduction of 60%, making air cargo transportation substantially more competitive.”

Nautilus offers greater efficiency and cost-savings by providing fully autonomous aircraft and remote piloting for additional security, allowing for substantial scaling of operations for air freight. The family of cargo aircraft includes:

• 8 ton payload short-haul feeder UAV
• 60 ton payload medium/long range UAV
• 100 ton payload long-range UAV
• 130 ton payload long-range UAV

The market for autonomous cargo aircraft is greater than $280 billion, based on the latest market report; however, the company believes with its price point, it will introduce a new category of freight – expanding the air freight market to $470B. Natilus aircraft use existing ground infrastructure and standard air cargo containers, to produce an innovative turnkey solution for its customers.

Natilus Fact Sheet: https://natilus.co/faq/

About Natilus:
The mission of Natilus is to democratize freight transport and safeguard lives by designing and manufacturing a new fleet of autonomous cargo aircraft that will increase volume by 60% and lower costs by 60%, while reducing carbon emissions by 50%. For more information, visit www.natilus.co and follow us on social media @Natilus.

Drone technology is fast developing into a scalable and rapid delivery system. The latest technological advance coming out of the US is the first Natilus 3.8T autonomous aircraft, with the first production delivery spot secured by Volatus Aerospace.

Up to now the drone designs have had relatively small payloads. But the Natilus aircraft features a wide, blended-wing geometry, similar to NASA and Boeing’s X-48B, which the company claims will drastically reduce drag and allow the drone to carry 3,855kg over a distance of 1,667km, or 905 nautical miles.

Read the entire article on TheLoadstar.com.