Aerospace manufacturer Natilus announced that it began the process of selecting a site for its first U.S. manufacturing facility.
The large-scale facility will produce the KONA, Natilus’ regional blended-wing-body freighter. The company also expects to expand with a larger production footprint for its 200-passenger aircraft, HORIZON.
Natilus anticipates that the development will mitigate the impact of potential trade restrictions and supply chain disruptions caused by tariffs on critical materials.
According to Natilus, its blended-wing-body aircraft’s carbon fiber airframes will offer advantages in fuel consumption, carbon emissions and payload capacity. The company added that the KONA, which can navigate rugged terrain and extreme weather conditions, provides 30% reduction in fuel consumption, 40% more volumetric capacity and a 50% decrease in carbon emissions, all while using existing engine technology.
Natilus announced Nolinor Aviation as the latest customer to reserve multiple production slots of KONA for its operations in northern Canada.
Once operational, Natilus expects the 250,000-square-foot facility to feature an annual production capacity of 60 KONA aircraft. The company also plans to hire 300 full-time skilled employees across manufacturing, aerospace, propulsion and test engineering, including production and quality roles, test pilots and machine technicians.
For Phase I, Natilus will prioritize geographic regions in the U.S. with strong state and local incentive programs and facilities with adequate runway length, airspace clearance for testing, training and selloff facilities and proximity to suppliers and transportation.
The company expects to announce further details in the coming months.
In the second phase, Natilus plans to develop a 2.5 million-square-foot facility to accommodate production of the HORIZON passenger aircraft, which is classed in the same narrowbody segment as Boeing 737s and Airbus A320s. The company said it is engaged with many prospective states and countries including the U.S., UAE, India and Saudi Arabia regarding potential sites.
The company expects the facility to employ around 3,000 skilled workers once it comes online in the early 2030s.