Czech eVTOL developer Zuri unveiled a new hybrid-electric uncrewed tiltrotor for cargo transportation on August 27, 2026.
This aircraft, which has been designed with dual use (civilian and military) in mind, will be capable of carrying more than 165 kilograms of cargo over a distance of up to 679 kg. Cruise speed will be up to 220 km/h.
The aircraft will controlled remotely by an operator on the ground, with many flight processes being automated. Instead of carrying batteries, Zuri’s tiltrotor has an electric motor capable of producing electricity during flight, coupled with thermal engine using AvGas, automotive gasoline or bioethanol.
This cargo drone builds upon the lessons Zuri has learned since 2018, when this Prague-based startup, the brainchild of entrepreneur Michal Illich, started working on an eVTOL program. Zuri claims to have built and test-flown around 15 different prototypes of different sizes since then. One of them, ‘Technology Demonstrator 1.0.’, already performed hovering flight under controlled conditions in 2021.
The startup is now working on a full-scale prototype. Called ‘Technology Demonstrator 2.0.’, it has already undergone some ground testing at Zuri’s facilities in the Czech Republic.
In fact, Zuri is currently in the process of raising €6 million in fresh capital in a Series A round, in order to move Technology Demonstrator 2.0, onto the flight test stage. The Czech company claims to have secured commitments for €1.1 million already.
Aware that this figure is orders of magnitude lower than that raised by other, more publicly prominent eVTOL developers, in the press release announcing the fund-raising round the company pointed out that, with the €6.5 million raised so far from private investors, it has achieved results which are not far off those obtained by other companies with over €300 million in funding.
Zuri envisages a mix of civilian and military customers for its future tiltrotor, which will be able to conduct missions such resupplying offshore platforms and military bases. The distributed power architecture of the aircraft Zuri has devised for this aircraft is expected to provide additional resilience in challenging environments.