American aerospace startup JetZero has announced that it has raised approximately $175 million to continue development of a Blended Wing Body (BWB) demonstration aircraft.
The investment round was led by B Capital with participation from United Airlines Ventures, Northrop Grumman, 3M Ventures, Trucks VC and RTX Ventures.
According to the company, the program’s total funding, including prior investments, government grants, incentives and commercial commitments, has already exceeded $1 billion.
The first flight of a full-size prototype is planned for 2027. JetZero states that the BWB architecture can offer an aerodynamic advantage of at least 30% compared to conventional tube-body and split-wing aircraft.
In the integrated wing concept, the fuselage and wings form a single airfoil, allowing a large portion of the structure to participate in lift generation. According to the company, this layout has the potential to reduce fuel consumption, increase interior volume and improve structural efficiency. On the other hand, this concept brings significant challenges, especially in the area of certification, passenger evacuation procedures and compatibility with existing airport infrastructure.
The JetZero demonstrator should verify aspects such as aerodynamics, controllability and systems integration before eventually moving into the commercial aircraft development phase. In the long term, the company anticipates fielding a BWB-configuration airliner in the early 2030s, in cooperation with the United States Air Force, NASA, and aviation regulators.
Source and photo: JetZero. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
