Ameriflight has agreed to purchase 20 autonomous freighter aircraft from Natilus, the company announced on Thursday. The Dallas-based Part 135 cargo airline says it is eyeing the Natilus Kona, an unpiloted short-haul feeder aircraft, to support its expedited supply-chain services.
The announcement comes just over one year after Ameriflight revealed its intention to convert its existing aircraft to have autonomous flight systems created by Merlin Labs. At the time, the company cited the ongoing shortage of commercial pilots as the main reason for automating its fleet. It also said it would initially operate flights with semi-autonomous capabilities before progressing to fully autonomous flights once the FAA will allow it. The airline additionally noted that the new autonomous cargo airplanes were not intended to replace its current fleet; rather, they will complement its existing operations.
Ameriflight, the nation’s largest Part 135 cargo carrier, operates more than 100 aircraft and employs about 150 pilots. The company makes about 1,500 weekly flights to 200 destinations across the United States. Its primary business is the transportation of high-priority air freight to and from remote areas for overnight express carriers such as UPS.
Natilus, a California-based start-up, has been developing unpiloted cargo freighters since 2016. The company says its autonomous aircraft will transform the air freight business by lowering the cost of cargo transport and helping to address the pilot shortage. In lieu of a pilot on board the aircraft, a remote pilot would operate multiple simultaneous flights at a ground control station.
“Innovation in design allows the Natilus fleet to carry more volume at lower costs, and the exploration of new sustainable fuels will lower carbon emissions,” said Aleksey Matyushev, co-founder and CEO of Natilus. “The Ameriflight agreement is a major move forward for the air cargo industry to strengthen the regional supply chain.”
The company’s family of unpiloted cargo freighters includes four blended-wing-body aircraft. The N3.8T, also known as the Kona, is expected to have a payload of 4.3 metric tons and a range of 900 nm. Its flagship N130T model is expected to have a payload of 143 metric tons and an intercontinental range of 5,112 nm. The two intermediate-size designs are the N100T (110 metric tons/5,400 nm) and the N60T (66 metric tons/4,142 nm).
The aircraft will be powered by a pair of pusher turboprops (the N3.8T) or two or three upper-wing-mounted ducted fans for the larger models. Their engines will run on jet-A or sustainable aviation fuel. Natilus says its designs offer a 60 percent reduction in the cost of operations and cut carbon emissions in half.
Natilus says it has already begun building a prototype of the N3.8T, and the company aims to begin flight testing with it in August. It expects to make its first deliveries in 2025 but has yet to state the basis for type certification.
With this latest order, Natilus now holds purchase agreements for more than 460 aircraft and has an order backlog worth $6.8 billion. Ameriflight’s 20 Kona aircraft are valued at $134 million.
