The Natilus Blended-Wing-Body Autonomous Air Cargo Aircraft

June 1, 2023

Woodrow Bellamy

Natilus completed a test flight with its sub-scale prototype in San Diego in April. The company will now shift its focus toward developing the full-scale prototype, which will have a wingspan of 85 feet. (Image: Natilus)

Natilus was first established as a startup in San Diego, CA, in 2016 with the goal of developing a blended-wing-body (BWB) autonomous air-cargo-carrying aircraft. In April, the startup completed the first flight of the sub-scale prototype of its Kona aircraft. On this episode of Here's an Idea, Natilus CEO Aleksey Matyushev discusses the vision for enabling autonomous air cargo operations with a BWB aircraft.

Early in his career, Matyushev was the lead aerodynamicist at Piper Aircraft. Later, at Kratos Defense he served as the aerodynamics lead on unmanned aircraft systems. Matyushev holds an aerospace engineering degree from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University.

Subscribe to the Here's an Idea podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify .