Textron’s eAviation division has acquired Amazilia Aerospace, a German company that specializes in digital flight controls and vehicle management systems (VMS). In a statement issued May 15, Textron eAviation said it now holds “substantially all the assets” of Amazilia, which employs about 30 people at its facilities in Munich.
Founded in 2018 under the parent company SF Express, a Chinese logistics group, Amazilia already has extensive experience working with Textron eAviation’s Pipistrel subsidiary. Textron acquired the Slovenian electric light aircraft manufacturer in 2022 as part of its new electric aviation strategy, which included the launch of its eAviation subsidiary that same year.
Pipistrel became the world’s first aircraft developer to obtain a type certificate for a fully electric airplane when EASA certified its Velis Electro two-seat trainer in 2020. The company also offers an optionally-piloted, fixed-wing reconnaissance platform called the Surveyor, which has been in service for about a decade. Amazilia partnered with Pipistrel on the Surveyor program, providing the aircraft’s flight controls and VMS.
In 2021, Amazilia parent company SF Express partnered with Pipistrel to design a new cargo drone with a hybrid-electric powertrain and vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capabilities. At the time, the partners said the design of this unnamed aircraft would be based on the Nuuva V300 model that Pipistrel began developing in 2020.
Since Textron acquired Pipistrel in 2022, it has continued developing the Nuuva V300 and expects to fly the first prototype this year in Gorizia, Italy, where Pipistrel is based. The Amazilia team will continue to work alongside Pipistrel on the Surveyor and Nuuva UAV programs. A Textron eAviation spokesperson told AIN that the company intends to explore additional cargo solutions beyond the Nuuva V300 in the future.
In addition to the eVTOL cargo drones, Textron eAviation is developing a passenger-carrying eVTOL aircraft known as the Nexus. The eAviation business unit took over the Nexus project from Textron’s Bell subsidiary in 2022. With the assembly of the first Nexus prototype underway at Textron’s Wichita headquarters, the company aims to begin flight tests in 2025.