A startup from Boulder, Colorado, is pitching what it calls the world’s largest aircraft by volume, a plane so massive it could carry four F-35 stealth fighters or six CH-47 Chinook helicopters without disassembly.
Radia, the company behind the concept, unveiled its plan for defense applications late last week.
“Strategic mobility buys time and space for the force,” Radia founder and CEO Mark Lundstrom said in the statement. “WindRunner was designed to move full systems, such as long-range radars, tiltrotors, [collaborative combat aircraft], mobile hospitals, and other complex, oversized assets, without disassembly, without special infrastructure, and without slowing operations.”
Don’t Miss:
If there was a new fund backed by Jeff Bezos offering a 7-9% target yield with monthly dividends would you invest in it?
An EA Co-Founder Shapes This VC Backed Marketplace—Now You Can Invest in Gaming’s Next Big Platform
WindRunner’s Volume Surpasses C-5 and C-17 Aircraft
Radia said the WindRunner, the name given to its cargo plane, would deliver roughly seven times the cargo space of Lockheed Martin’s (NYSE: LMT) C-5 Super Galaxy and 12 times that of Boeing’s (NYSE: BA) C-17 Globemaster III. The company emphasized that current military fleets often max out on cargo space before reaching their weight limits, which slows missions and creates vulnerabilities.
The WindRunner is designed with a wingspan of 261 feet, a length of 356 feet, and a payload volume of 6,800 cubic meters. Payload capacity is listed at about 160,000 pounds, slightly below the 170,900-pound payload of the smaller C-17.
The aircraft is intended to carry entire mission-ready systems, which cannot be done with existing C-5 or C-17 transports, according to the company.
Trending: Backed by $300M+ in Assets and Microsoft’s Climate Fund, Farmland LP Opens Vital Farmland III to Accredited Investors
WindRunner Has Military, Space, and Humanitarian Applications
The WindRunner could transport four CV-22 Ospreys directly into combat environments and as many as 12 Apache helicopters, compared to two on a C-17. The company also said it could move rocket boosters in hours instead of days, enabling faster space launch logistics.
The aircraft is designed to operate from unpaved runways as short as 6,000 feet, while today’s heavy airlifters, such as the Galaxy, typically require about 8,000 feet. Radia said this feature allows operations in storm-damaged, contested, or austere locations.
The company stressed that the plane will be compatible with standard ground equipment, avoiding the need for specialized loaders or custom-built facilities. That capability could minimize costs, cut mission timelines, and reduce vulnerability to disruption, according to the company.
See Also: The ECG Hasn’t Changed in 100 Years — This AI Upgrade Could Help Detect Heart Disease Years Earlier
Radia Secures Pentagon Research Pact, Sets 2030 Target With $130 Million in Backing
Radia has raised $130 million in funding, according to private market analytics firm PitchBook. The company announced in May a cooperative research and development agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Transportation Command to evaluate whether the WindRunner could support dual-use civil-military oversized cargo operations.
Radia described the WindRunner as a complement to aging fleets rather than a replacement, adding that the new cargo jet would expand strategic reach while filling capacity gaps.
The startup announced in May that its defense operations are now guided by retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Kenneth “Thad” Bibb, who now serves as Radia’s vice president of business development for defense.
With 33 years of service, Bibb commanded some of the Air Force’s most critical mobility and logistics organizations. Bibb also directed the 618th Air Operations Center and also held senior leadership positions within Air Force Materiel Command, Radia said in the statement.
Read Next: $100k+ in investable assets? Match with a fiduciary advisor for free to learn how you can maximize your retirement and save on taxes – no cost, no obligation.