Zuri Prepares to Fly Hybrid-electric Cargo Drone

Zuri has begun ground tests with the first full-scale example of its uncrewed hybrid-electric VTOL cargo aircraft in preparation for the start of flight testing in early 2027. Announcing the milestone on Thursday, the Czech start-up said it has already signed letters of intent with two prospective customers.

According to Prague-based Zuri, €6 million ($7 million) in Series A funding has covered work on its latest technology demonstrator and is also sufficient for flight testing. Since 2018, the company has conducted hundreds of flight tests across more than 15 iterations of the aircraft, with deliveries expected to start by 2029.

According to Zuri, the drone is expected to have a payload of more than 220 pounds and a range of around 309 nm, including a 30-minute reserve to reach an alternate landing site. Its useful load, including fuel, is projected at 363 pounds, and cruise speeds should reach 120 knots.

The company is targeting applications such as resupply flights for offshore energy platforms and islands, as well as military logistics missions in contested areas where roads and bridges may be unusable. It anticipates that the new remotely piloted model will replace helicopters, supply vessels and trucks. 

Surveillance Roles

An alternative version with additional fuel tanks and carrying only light sensors for coastal surveillance roles could fly up to about 1,000 nm. Zuri stressed that the aircraft will be produced and potentially exported without any restrictions that might apply under U.S. ITAR defense sales rules. 

Cargo will be loaded in a sealed bay at the center of the airframe, with a pod underneath available for various sensors and other equipment. Zuri has opted to build the airframe entirely from aluminum, which it believes will reduce manufacturing costs.

According to Zuri, the distributed propulsion architecture and redundant fly-by-wire controls will allow the aircraft to keep flying even if a rotor malfunctions. The company said it will obtain EASA approval to operate under its special category for uncrewed aircraft.

The 1,500 Wh/kg powertrain consists of a piston engine that can run on Avgas, automotive gas, or bioethanol, and electric motors developed by the Slovenian company Emrax. There will also be four small battery packs, as this power source is only needed as a supplementary power supply.

Zuri said it has not abandoned its earlier plans to develop a six-seat crewed hybrid-electric VTOL model for passenger operations. It told AIN that work on this product will continue when the path to type certification and commercial returns seems clearer.

According to Zuri founder and CEO Michal Illich, his company has made far more efficient use of the €7.6 million it has raised to date than rival VTOL developers. “We spent nine years and 15 aircraft teaching ourselves what this architecture can do,” he commented. “The uncrewed cargo VTOL is the first one we are building for someone else to fly. This [Series A] round funds the demonstrator and its full flight test campaign.”

Of the total raised, €1.1 million came for existing Zuri investors. However, these do not include the Ambitious Air Mobility Group, which last year said it would back the company. According to Zuri, the Netherlands-based group, which had tried to by collapsed eVTOL developer Lilium, has signed a letter of intent covering possible purchases of both the crewed and uncrewed versions of its aircraft.