Drones will push the Boundaries of what is possible in air cargo
UPS feeder airline Ameriflight is to purchase 20 Natilus Kona cargo drones, swelling the orderbook for the still theoretical aircraft to $6.8bn.
The Kona, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), bearing a design markedly similar to the NASA X-48B blended-wing prototype, is designed to carry more cargo than a tubular aircraft of the same dimensions, Natilus says.
It claims the Kona could carry 4.3 tonnes over 900 nautical miles, using twin Pratt & Whitney PT6 turboprop engines. The designer also claims a lack of a pilot, and need for pressurization, and the aircraft’s unique shape could create considerable carbon emission savings of up to 50%, compared with a manned flight with similar cargo.
Customers of the innovative UAV also include Flexport, which, in February last year, committed to buy two of Natilus’s larger 100t drones, named Nordes and which features twin turbofan engines instead of the Kona’s twin turboprops. Other committed buyers include Astral Aviation and Volatus Aerospace.