Natilus Picks Wing Supplier for Kona Blended-wing-body Cargo Airplane

Natilus Picks Wing Supplier for Blended-wing Freighter

Kona’s carbon-fiber wings will have a conventional spar-and-rib structure

A rendering shows Natilus’ Kona in flight — A rendering shows Natilus’ Kona, an optionally piloted blended-wing-body freighter designed to carry 3.8 metric tons of cargo up to 900 nm. Composites Universal Group will build the carbon-fiber wings for the full-scale prototype.

By Hanneke Weitering • Science & Technology Editor

November 13, 2026

Composites Universal Group (CUG) will build the carbon-fiber wings for the full-scale prototype of Natilus’ Kona blended-wing-body freighter. It will deliver them to the San Diego start-up’s hangar in spring 2027, Natilus announced on Wednesday.

CUG will do the work at its facility in Warren, Oregon, using a streamlined tooling process intended to cut costs and shorten the schedule. Founded in 1994 to make composite tools and parts for experimental aircraft, the company has worked with Airbus Defence and Space, Boeing, Archer, and SpaceX, according to Natilus. In 2021, Bye Aerospace contracted CUG to build the fuselage and assemble the wings for its eFlyer 2 electric trainer.

Natilus chose carbon fiber because it requires fewer parts and fasteners than aluminum and resists corrosion and fatigue. Beyond that material choice, the company is sticking with designs that have flown on certified aircraft for decades, which it says will reduce the technical risk and cost of an unconventional airframe. The wings will feature the same spar-and-rib structure seen in conventional airplanes and mechanical cable-and-pulley flight controls rather than fly-by-wire. They will also be “dry,” with no fuel tanks inside.

Production of the wings will emulate the way Textron Aviation builds the Beechcraft King Air series and other certified tube-and-wing aircraft, according to Natilus. The company claims its blended-wing-body designs will carry 40% more payload than comparable tube-and-wing aircraft.

Tooling under construction at Composites Universal Group for Natilus’ Kona wings — Composites Universal Group has begun building tooling for the Kona prototype’s carbon-fiber wings, according to Natilus. © Natilus/Composites Universal Group

Once the wings arrive in San Diego, Natilus will test samples of the wing’s composite material and bonded joints, then put the wings through limit-load testing before the prototype’s first flight. “Kona’s blended wing may look different than any plane on the market today, but we are utilizing off-the-shelf technology for the wing build,” said Natilus co-founder and CEO Aleksey Matyushev.

Natilus received $3.5 million in U.S. Air Force funding for the freighter in October and aims to fly the full-scale Kona in 2028, with commercial service to follow by the end of the decade. Kona is optionally piloted, meaning the autonomous cargo airplane can fly with or without a pilot on board. Designed to carry 3.8 metric tons of cargo up to 900 nm, it will precede the Horizon Evo, a 200-seat airliner meant to rival the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 Max families.