By Mark Lundstrom, chief executive and founder, Radia

In a world of massive machines and grand ambitions, wind turbines the length of football fields, space rockets taller than office buildings, armored vehicles weighing tens of tonnes, we are hitting a wall. Not a technological one. A logistical one.

We’ve gotten very good at building big, but we’ve failed to evolve how we move big things.

Across industries – clean energy, defence, aerospace, and large cargo – there’s a growing and under-discussed problem: we’re running out of ways to transport massive cargo.

The global fleet of outsized cargo aircraft that once underpinned critical logistics is ageing fast. There are no clear replacements in sight. And while we debate high-speed rail and drone delivery, we’re overlooking the most urgent transportation crisis of them all: outsized air cargo.

The consequences are bigger than missed deadlines or expensive workarounds. They threaten the pace of global clean energy deployment, the agility of military response, and the viability of large-scale industrial projects. In Europe, they also threaten progress on defence and energy sovereignty. We can’t afford to ignore this any longer.

That’s where WindRunner™ comes in – and not a moment too soon.

A crisis hidden in plain sight

Oversized air transport has always been a niche but essential capability. The C-5 Galaxy, the C-17 Globemaster, and the Antonov An-124 have carried the burden – literally and figuratively – for decades.

In Europe, the A400M and the C130 face increasing limitations due to slow deliveries, capacity, and operational readiness. The stark reality is that these vital heavy-lift fleets are ageing, and the absence of direct replacements is becoming a serious strategic concern.

The capacity we do have is now under threat due to the limited availability of the ageing existing fleets, coupled with growing maintenance burdens and shrinking operational windows. Meanwhile, no new purpose-built aircraft are entering the market to fill this gap.

The result? The inability to access airlift and/or workarounds that are costly, inefficient, or simply not feasible.

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WindRunner isn’t just a plane – it’s a pivot point

WindRunner isn’t a theoretical solution. It’s a purpose-built, clean-sheet design engineered specifically for today’s oversized cargo challenges. And it’s not modest about its ambition: it will be the largest aircraft by volume ever built.

Its payload capacity – 80 tonnes. Its cargo bay – 12 times larger than a Boeing 747. Its runway requirements – just 6,000 feet of packed dirt. That’s not a small improvement. That’s a logistical revolution.

And it brings another critical advantage: use of existing infrastructure. Unlike other outsized cargo aircraft, WindRunner can load and unload using commonly available ground support equipment. Its extremely low cargo deck height means it doesn’t need specialised lifts or bespoke service vehicles, just standard, proven tools already in widespread use.

WindRunner doesn’t need massive airports or pristine runways. It can land near wind farms in rural plains, at military staging areas in infrastructure-degraded zones, or at industrial sites far from traditional supply chains. While it is not equipped with onboard defensive systems, it provides access to locations that are logistically contested where mobility, not survivability, is the limiting factor.

Why it matters: From energy to security

Start with clean energy. The future of onshore wind depends on building larger turbines – cheaper, more powerful, and more efficient, but the size of turbine blades has already outpaced the limits of road transport. WindRunner can solve that by flying entire blades directly to remote or rugged installation sites. The result?:

• A potential 30% reduction in the cost of onshore wind energy
• A threefold expansion in viable land area for turbine deployment
• Economic development through the availability of low-cost energy in locations previously unavailable.

Then there’s national defence. In a world increasingly shaped by rapid-response conflicts and geopolitical instability, being able to move large equipment into logistically difficult environments quickly and flexibly is critical.

WindRunner can augment overworked military fleets and deliver vital supplies where traditional aircraft simply can’t go. Its advantages include:

• A significantly larger cargo volume than current military airlifters
• The ability to operate from short, semi-prepared runways
• Ease of operational integration due to loading and unloading that doesn’t require specialised ground service equipment.

And in aerospace and advanced manufacturing, where delays and damage during ground transport can cost millions, WindRunner offers the possibility of moving full rocket stages, satellites, and sensitive industrial equipment safely and swiftly.

Importantly, we’ve already secured a robust global supplier network, with an additional final assembly partnership to be announced soon. This isn’t a single-aircraft venture – it’s a global platform in motion. 

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A world unboxed

Beyond today’s known use cases, WindRunner invites us to reimagine what’s possible. For decades, the design of many of the world’s most advanced machines has been limited by the constraints of standard container shipping. With WindRunner, engineers are no longer bound by what fits on a flatbed or inside a 40-foot box. The consequences for innovation – across energy, defence, infrastructure, and exploration – could be extraordinary.

And in an era of increasing uncertainty – from natural disasters and tariff shifts to blocked shipping lanes and conflict zones – WindRunner offers something increasingly rare: logistics flexibility at global scale. Its ability to bypass chokepoints and deliver directly to where it’s needed most isn’t just convenient, it could be critical.

 A vision worth betting on

We aren’t just selling a plane, we’re building an ecosystem. With a team of experienced aerospace veterans and deep technical chops, we’re working on a solution that could reshape how the modern world moves its most important hardware.

Yes, this will take investment, billions. But it’s the kind of infrastructure we need to unlock next-generation growth. Think about it: we’ve built a global economy on just-in-time logistics and interconnectivity. But we’ve left out the very things that are too big to fit in that model.

WindRunner isn’t just an aircraft, it’s a necessary correction. A strategic enabler. A bet on the kind of world we’re building.

We stand at a crossroads: let the constraints of ageing infrastructure limit what we build and where we build it, or embrace a bold new way to deliver the future. WindRunner offers us the chance to choose the latter.

It’s time we take it.

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