Flying Whales, a French firm specializing in rigid airship technology for heavy-load transport, plans to set up a manufacturing facility in the United Arab Emirates. The move will create around 1,000 employment opportunities in collaboration with its partners.
Boasting zero-emissions as it is fully electric, the Whale will be certified by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA). It works like a helicopter and can carry heavy loads, such as mobile hospitals, to remote locations.
“We want to have a final assembly line in Abu Dhabi to produce airships for all regions from East Africa to the Middle East to India. We have started discussions and if we set up a facility here, production will start in 2027. , creating 300 direct jobs. As other consortium companies will also come to manufacture parts in the UAE, in total, we will create around 1,000 jobs,” said Sebastian Bogon, Chairman and CEO of Flying Whales.
Since the airship was designed as a whale, it is named after the marine mammal and is capable of carrying wind blades, high voltage towers, industrial parts, hospitals, etc.
The airship, which can fly hundreds to thousands of kilometers, is not for sale and will be operated by Flying Whale Services. Named LCA60T, with a 200-metre long, 50-metre diameter and 96-metre long cargo bay, it will be able to load and unload heavy or heavy loads of up to 60 tonnes for the first time in history. flying fly
There will be no footprint on the ground as we don’t have to land to load and unload.
The company aims to have four final assembly lines around the world: Quebec (Canada), Nouvelle Aquitaine (France), Abu Dhabi (UAE) and the state of Victoria (Australia). Each facility will cater for the entire region. Backed by a consortium of 50 leading aeronautical partners including Honeywell, Thales, Safran, AWS and others, the company will have a Flying Wheels Industry and Flying Wheels Services unit at each of its four locations.
In terms of cost, Bogon revealed that this new model of transportation is 20 times less expensive than helicopters and planes, and slightly more than trucks. “We have no impact on the ground when we load and unload.”
The company is currently participating in COP28 at Expo City Dubai, representing French innovation in decarbonizing transport.
Bogon said they are working hand-in-hand with these regulatory authorities in the US and Europe, so the airship will be as safe as any aircraft operating globally.
Flying Whale will serve 30 bases from the UAE, deploying airships to all these destinations. Globally, it will have 160 airbases and an airship will be built for each airbase.
“Emirates is a strong partner of France and is in the middle. We have to go to India and there are a lot of opportunities in East Africa. So we will build airships for the region in Emirates and deploy them in all regions. , increasing the influence of Emirates in all these regions because Emirates is India, Africa and Turkey will manage all these transport systems,” Bogan told Khaleej Times during COP28.
“If we set up a facility here in the Emirates, it would mean an agreement between the Emirates, France, Canada and Australia and we would never have another factory in any of the neighboring Gulf countries or India. Production and operations would be exclusively in the Emirates.
