Jane Edwards
Natilus has secured $6 billion in advance commitments to deliver over 440 autonomous cargo aircraft to major airlines and integrators.
The purchase commitments for Natilus’ unmanned aerial vehicles were from Volatus Aerospace, Flexport, Dymond, Astral Aviation and Aurora International, Natilus said Wednesday.
“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,” said Natilus CEO Aleksey Matyushev.
“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,” added Matyushev.
Matyushev and Anatoly Starikov co-founded Natilus in 2016 with a mission to democratize freight transport through the development of unmanned aerial vehicles designed to boost cargo volume by 60 percent while reducing costs by 60 percent and carbon emissions by 50 percent. The company’s family of cargo aircraft includes a 3.8-ton payload short-haul feeder UAV and a 130-ton payload long-range UAV.
