Major General Kenneth Thad Bibb, Jr. Joins Radia as Vice President of Business Development for Defense

BOULDER, Colo., May 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Radia, the aerospace innovator behind WindRunner™—the world's largest cargo aircraft—is pleased to welcome Major General Kenneth "Thad" Bibb, Jr., USAF (Ret), as Vice President of Business Development for Defense. General Bibb brings decades of military aviation and logistics leadership to help guide Radia's growing role in supporting U.S. and allied defense operations.

With 33 years in the United States Air Force, General Bibb has commanded some of the service's most critical logistics and mobility organizations. As Commander of the 18th Air Force, he led 36,000 Airmen who executed global airlift, refueling, and aeromedical missions, and he oversaw the fleet that included the C-5 and C-17 heavy lift assets. Previously, he directed the 618th Air Operations Center, overseeing daily flight operations across a global fleet of 1,100 aircraft. He also served in senior roles within Air Force Materiel Command, responsible for strategic planning and oversight of multi-billion-dollar research, development, and sustainment programs.

"General Bibb is a rare leader who understands both the operational needs and strategic challenges facing modern defense logistics," said Mark Lundstrom, CEO of Radia. "He brings vital insight and relationships to ensure WindRunner's unique capabilities directly support critical missions across the globe."

The WindRunner was designed to meet pressing demands for large-scale, flexible logistics— both in energy and defense. It has twelve times the cargo volume of a 747 and can land on short, rugged runways. This makes the WindRunner a powerful complement to the military's legacy fleets like the C-5, C-17, AN-24, and aging air refuelers such as the KC-135 and KC-46, and it is a flexible tool for carrying aircraft like the F-16 and its support equipment.

"The WindRunner solves a real problem—it can carry enormous cargo that other air transport vehicles cannot," said General Bibb. "I'm excited to see the WindRunner as a dual-use aircraft that can replace, and augment missions served by the C-5 and C-17. It brings a new level of flexibility and speed to logistics planning. I'm proud to join Radia at a moment when rapid, resilient mobility is more important than ever."

General Bibb's appointment builds on Radia's momentum in the defense sector and reinforces its commitment to strengthening national security through agile, infrastructure-light air logistics.

About Radia

Radia has developed the world's largest aircraft, the WindRunner™, with twelve times the volume of a 747 and the ability to land on short and unpaved runways. The WindRunner fleet will be a dual-use platform that can be used for defense, aerospace, and other oversized cargo applications in addition to wind energy. For the wind energy industry, the WindRunner will enable the cheapest energy in the world by allowing the supersizing of onshore wind turbines that would otherwise not be possible to transport terrestrially. Radia was competitively selected by both the World Economic Forum as a 'WEF Unicorn' and Endeavor as an 'Endeavor Entrepreneur'. Learn more at radia.com.

Contact:
Kathy Van Buskirk
Head of Marketing & Communications, Radia
[email protected]
+1 720 771 7651

SOURCE Radia