Natilus has received $3.5 million in Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation funding from Operational Energy – Innovation and the Department of the Air Force through the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Energy, Installations, and Environment to advance its KONA regional freighter.
The funding will support development of the 3.8-ton, optionally piloted aircraft toward full-scale flight testing and an operationally relevant demonstration for the U.S. Joint Force.
Natilus is developing KONA as a blended-wing-body aircraft positioned between light utility platforms such as the C-208 and larger tactical airlifters such as the C-130. The company describes the aircraft as a new sub-tactical lift option for regional distribution and contested logistics missions.
KONA is designed with a 3.8-ton payload capacity, an 800-nautical-mile range, short-field capabilities, and compatibility with existing cargo infrastructure.
Natilus said the aircraft’s blended-wing-body configuration consumes approximately 30% less fuel than comparable conventional aircraft. The company believes this efficiency could be particularly relevant for Indo-Pacific operations, where long distances, distributed operating locations, and constrained fuel supply chains can increase the logistical burden of military airlift.
The government award will complement private and strategic investment supporting Natilus’ commercial aircraft program. The company is currently advancing KONA toward FAA Part 23 certification and full-scale flight testing.
While regional airlift is the primary defense application currently being evaluated, Natilus designed KONA with a modular architecture and optional-piloted capability that could support additional mission configurations in the future. Potential uses include communications relay, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and payload delivery.
The initial military focus will be evaluating KONA as a distribution aircraft for intra-theater airlift and contested logistics while collecting operational data related to cost, reliability, payload, utilization, range, and fuel efficiency.
Natilus was founded in 2016 and is developing a family of blended-wing-body aircraft for commercial and government markets. The company said it has received more than 570 aircraft pre-orders valued at approximately $24 billion. Natilus also projects its aircraft could reduce fuel consumption by 30%, decrease operating costs by 50%, and increase payload capacity by 40% compared with conventional designs.
KEY QUOTES:
“The combination of existing commercial investment and new government funding gives us an opportunity to accelerate technologies that can increase capability while reducing operational energy demand. In a fuel-constrained environment like the Pacific, efficiency translates directly into operational flexibility. KONA provides an opportunity to evaluate how a commercially developed aircraft can contribute to distributed logistics while generating the data needed to inform future requirements.”
Jim Hartle, Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary Of The Air Force For Operational Energy, Safety And Occupational Health
“With KONA, the Department of War is evaluating a new airlift capability that can generate real-world cost, reliability, payload and utilization data as the broader military requirement matures. While we build KONA to meet the global commercial market need for a more efficient regional freighter, this investment and accelerated operational timeline with the Air Force will demonstrate KONA’s payload, range, efficiency and flexibility benefits for the Joint Force.”
Aleksey Matyushev, CEO Of Natilus
