Natilus

American company developing blended-wing passenger and air cargo aircraft

NatilusCompany type| Private

|

Industry| Aerospace industry
Founded| 2016
Founders| Aleksey Matyushev
Anatoly Starikov [1]
Headquarters| San Diego, California
Products| Passenger and cargo aircraft design
Website| www.natilus.co

Natilus is a San Diego–based aerospace company developing next-generation blended-wing-body cargo aircraft.

## History

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Natilus was founded in April 2016[2] by Aleksey Matyushev and Anatoly Starikov. The idea for Natilus was sparked after their industrial design firm experienced challenges getting product out of Asia, leading them to the realization that cargo shipping is inexpensive but slow, while air freight is timely but expensive. The company was originally based in the San Francisco Bay Area and the original prototype was a seaplane.[3] In 2021 the company relocated to San Diego, California, to access aerospace engineering talent and a world-class wind tunnel facility.[2]

## Market

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Natilus targets an existing $197 billion global air cargo market, projected to grow beyond $210 billion by 2027,[4] and the potential to tap into the $2.2 trillion global cargo shipping market, projected to reach $4.2 trillion by 2031.[5] Natilus is also targeting an existing $83.99 billion passenger aircraft market.[6]

## Aircraft

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A computer-generated image portrays the KONA and HORIZON blended-wing-body aircraft flying over trees.

The design of Natilus’s blended-wing-body aircraft includes vertical tails[7] and conventional landing gear.[8]

Natilus’s regional cargo aircraft, KONA, can carry a payload of 3.8 metric tons with a range of 900 nautical miles.[9] [10] Made of carbon fibre and fibreglass composites, KONA can be optionally piloted[10] and is powered by jet engines developed by Pratt & Whitney.[11]

Natilus’s first passenger aircraft, the HORIZON,[12] can carry a payload of 25 tons[7] with a range of 3,500 nautical miles.[13] The aircraft can carry up to 200 passengers.[14][15]

## Development

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Natilus raised $750,000 of venture capital from Tim Draper and was incubated at the aviation-oriented Starburst Accelerator in Los Angeles.

In November 2017, Natilus closed a second round of seed funding from Starburst Ventures, Seraph Group, Gelt VC, Outpost Capital and Draper Associates.[16]

Natilus has announced two aircraft in production: KONA, a pusher twin-turboprop regional cargo freighter capable of carrying 3.8 tonnes (8,400 lb) payload over 900 nautical miles (1,700 km), and HORIZON, a passenger aircraft capable of carrying 25 tonnes (55,000 lb) over 3,500 nautical miles (6,500 km).[12] In April 2023, Natilus completed multiple flights of the subscale prototype of its KONA regional aircraft.[17][18] The company reported that Ameriflight has "agreed to purchase" 20 KONAs, and that total agreements cover 460 aircraft valued at over $6.8 billion. In February 2025, Natilus reported that Canadian charter airline Nolinor Aviation agreed to purchase multiple KONA aircraft.[19][20]

## See also

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* Air cargo
* Cargo airline
* blended wing body

## References

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1. ^ Terdiman, Daniel (2017-03-27). "A Startup's Plan to Cut Air Freight Costs in Half with 777-Size Drones". Fast Company.
2. ^ a b Bloodworth, Donald (2024-01-23). "Natilus Designing Solutions for Air Cargo". San Diego Business Journal. Retrieved 2024-01-25.
3. ^ Smith, Phillip (2018-03-16). "This Leviathan Could Disrupt Unmanned Global Air Freight: Natilus CEO Aleksey Matyushev". dronebelow.com. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
4. ^ "Global air freight market size forecast 2027". Statista. Retrieved 2024-01-23.
5. ^ "Cargo Shipping Market Size, Share, Revenue, Analysis, Outlook". Allied Market Research. Retrieved 2024-01-23.
6. ^ "Passenger Aircraft - Worldwide". Statista. November 2024. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
7. ^ a b Gardiner, Ginger (2024-10-30). "Natilus announces Horizon blended wing body CFRP aircraft for 200-passenger narrowbody market". CompositesWorld. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
8. ^ Binkowski, Brooke (2024-10-24). "San Diego-Based Natilus Announces a New Kind of Passenger Aircraft". Times of San Diego. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
9. ^ "Nolinor Aviation to acquire multiple cargo aircraft from Natilus". Canadian Manufacturing. 2025-02-04. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
10. ^ a b Weitering, Hanneke (2025-02-04). "Canadian Airline Nolinor Orders Kona Cargo Freighters". AIN Online. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
11. ^ Crider, Andrew (August 23, 2022). "Natilus selects P&W engines for first autonomous cargo aircraft". Cargo Facts.
12. ^ a b "Natilus Debuts its New Passenger Aircraft "Horizon" to Decarbonize Global Commercial Aviation" (Press release). Natilus. October 23, 2024.
13. ^ Hardee, Howard (2024-11-20). "Developer Natilus unveils 200-seat aircraft concept to challenge tube-and-wing supremacy". FlightGlobal. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
14. ^ Prisco, Jacopo (2024-11-01). "'Horizon' plane's innovative shape promises greener flights and added comfort". CNN. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
15. ^ Alcock, Charles (2024-10-23). "Natilus Reveals Plan For 200-Seat Blended Wing Body Airliner". AINOnline. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
16. ^ "As Autonomous Technology Transforms the Global Freight Sector, Natilus Attracts More Seed Investment from Starburst Ventures, Seraph Group, Gelt VC, Outpost Capital and Draper Associates" (Press release). Starburst Ventures. Nov 13, 2017.
17. ^ Jeffrey, Rebecca (2023-04-19). "Natilus completes UAV prototype flights". Air Cargo News. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
18. ^ "Successful Flight of Natilus Kona Prototype Validates Performance of Unique Blended Wing Body Design". ASD News. 2023-04-19. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
19. ^ "Nolinor Aviation to acquire multiple cargo aircraft from Natilus" (Press release). Nolinor Aviation. February 4, 2025.
20. ^ Rains, Taylor (2025-02-04). "Why a cargo airline is eyeing a radical new aircraft design for its future planes". Business Insider. Retrieved 2025-03-07.

## External links

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* Official website