The French company Flying Whales, which specialises in rigid airship technology for heavy-load transportation, intends to establish a production plant in the United Arab Emirates. Together with its partners, this action will create about 1,000 job possibilities.
The Whales, which are fully electric and have zero emissions, will receive certification from both the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). It functions similarly to a helicopter and is capable of transporting big objects to far-off places, including mobile hospitals. The airship, which bears the moniker of the whale since it was modelled after the marine animal, can transport wind blades, high-voltage towers, industrial components, hospitals, and other things.
The airship will be run by Flying Whales Services and has a few hundred to a few thousand km of flight time. It is not for sale. It will be able to load and unload up to 60 tonnes of large or bulky cargoes in hovering flight for the first time in history. It is called LCA60T and measures 200 metres long by 50 metres in diameter by 96 metres long in the cargo bay. It doesn't need to land in order to load or unload, hence there won't be any footprints on the ground.
The State of Victoria (Australia), Quebec (Canada), Nouvelle Aquitaine (France), and Abu Dhabi (UAE) are the four locations where the corporation hopes to build its final assembly lines. Every facility will serve the whole area. The firm, which has the backing of fifty top aviation partners such as Honeywell, Thales, Safran, AWS, and others, intends to establish a Flying Whales Industry and Flying Whales Services unit at each of the four locations.
As a representative of French innovation in the decarbonisation of transport, the firm is now participating in the COP28 at Expo City Dubai.
Airships will be sent by Flying Whales to all thirty bases that it will service from the United Arab Emirates. It will build one airship for each of the 160 airbases it has worldwide.
