Radia

Radia is a United States aerospace company developing the WindRunner, an aircraft it describes as the largest in the world by volume, with ten times the cargo volume of a 777. The company says the aircraft can take off and land on 1,800 metres of unpaved runway at maximum payload. In its defence material the aircraft is designated the C-242 WindRunner. Founder and CEO Mark Lundstrom, an MIT aerospace engineer, says the original goal in starting Radia was to take 10 percent of the CO2 out of the world, and that the design also fits a shortage of capacity for oversized cargo.

Why the WindRunner

Radia argues that ground infrastructure was built around ordinary cargo and has not kept up with outsized loads such as rocket boosters, 105 metre wind turbine blades and helicopters. It says current cargo aircraft run out of room before they run out of lift, so volume is the limiting factor. The WindRunner has a high wing, a wide body fuselage and a modular cargo loading system, with roll-on and roll-off loading that reduces the need for specialised ground support equipment.

Defence use

• Delivering helicopters, tiltrotors, collaborative combat aircraft and fighter jets without disassembly
• Moving radars, satellite communications, unmanned aircraft or missile systems to remote islands
• Delivering mobile hospitals, aid packages and shelters to areas with limited infrastructure
• Agile Combat Employment, resupplying dispersed airfields

Radia points out that the C-17 was last produced in 2015 and the C-5 in 1989, and presents the WindRunner as closing a multi-decade capability gap. A quote on the site from retired USAF General Mike Minihan, commander of Air Mobility Command from 2021 to 2024, says the aircraft gives thousands more inches of room.

Commercial use and schedule

For commercial customers the company targets just-in-time logistics for cargo that is too large for existing aircraft and too urgent or remote for ships, including energy equipment. It says its commercial certification approach shortens development, and that the aircraft will be ten years faster to field than next-generation heavy-lift concepts. The initial flight is intended for 2030. Radia works with strategic suppliers among the established aerospace companies and has assembled a leadership team from the aerospace and energy sectors.

Events

Radia is listed as an exhibitor at AFA Air, Space and Cyber Conference 2027, AFA Warfare Symposium 2027 and Paris Air Show 2027.

Contact

Radia is listed under Aircraft Manufacturers and is based in United States.
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