Ameriflight to buy 20 Autonomous planes from Natilus

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Ameriflight to buy 20 Autonomous planes from Natilus

Ameriflight, a cargo airline that partners with UPS, FedEx and DHL, has announced a $134 million deal to buy 20 autonomous aircraft from Natilus as part of its push to build the air cargo network of the future. The feeder services company in Dallas said in a statement that the new planes will help in modernizing Ameriflight's fleet and allow the offering of a high quality and differentiated product in a part of the industry seeing exponential growth. At the forefront of autonomous innovation, Natilus technology is well suited for the customers in our corner of the industry, said Alan Rusinowitz, President and COO of Ameriflight.

Ameriflight says the Natilus fleet of carbon fiber, blended-wing- body designed cargo aircraft offer a 60% reduction in cost of operations and cuts carbon emissions by half.

Ameriflight is eyeing a Natilus Kona, a 3.8 ton payload short-haul feeder uncrewed aerial vehicle, it added. It will be used to support the company's increased business opportunities, primarily for Ameriflight's expedited supply chain services. The deal with Natilus, based in San Diego, is valued at $134 million, according to the website Freightwaves.

Natilus co- founder and CEO Aleksey Matyushev told the news website that it expects to begin Kona flight tests late next year and customer deliveries by 2026.

Ameriflight is growing from a small air charter and cargo service carrier to an international operator with 14 bases, 1,500 weekly departures and 200 destinations, with more than 500 employees including over 150 pilots and over 100 aircraft.