Abu Dhabi smart mobility company Barq Group has teamed up with Elroy Air to develop a manufacturing facility in the emirate for the US logistics firm's unmanned Chaparral cargo aircraft, helping to advance the UAE's autonomous goals.
The joint venture will invest $200 million in the project to produce the Chaparral, an uncrewed hybrid-electric vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) cargo system, the companies said in a statement on Friday.
The development aims to establish local production capacity serving the UAE and wider Middle East and North Africa, where demand for autonomous logistics is growing, they said.
The partnership is a “commitment to building a self-sustaining aerospace ecosystem”, and is aligned with the Make it in the Emirates campaign and Abu Dhabi's Smart and Autonomous Vehicles Industry cluster, said Ahmed AlMazrui, chief executive of Barq Group.
“The massive demand we are seeing from logistics providers across Mena makes it clear that local production is the only way to scale effectively,” he said.
San Francisco-based Elroy Air said demand for the Chaparral – which has a range of 482km and payload capacity of 136kg – in Mena is “immense”, surpassing its initial estimates, chief executive Andrew Clare said.
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Joby Aviation carries out the region's first electric air taxi test flight in Dubai. All Photos: Chris Whiteoak / The National -
The aircraft will be able to carry four passengers, as well as a pilot, with the service set to be introduced in Dubai in 2026. -
The aircraft can travel at up to 320kph. -
Pilot Peter Wilson discusses the technology used by the aircraft in Dubai. -
Didier Papadopoulos, of Joby Aviation, discusses the company's aims for its services in the UAE. -
The service is to be 'widely accessible' using a smartphone app, the company has said. -
The air taxi is capable of a vertical take-off and landing, and can travel up to 160km. -
Flights have been monitored at Joby's test centre in Dubai.
“Abu Dhabi is the ideal strategic hub for our first international manufacturing footprint … reducing lead times for our regional customers [and] ensuring the aircraft is built in the same environment where they will operate,” Mr Clare said.
The UAE continues to expand its autonomous vehicles industry as it prepares for the future of transport and adheres to global sustainability goals.
The Arab world's second biggest economy, which already has driverless taxis on its roads, is encouraging investment.
Interest in eVTOLs, touted as significantly reducing travel times in a more environmentally friendly way, continues to grow in the Emirates. In November, the Abu Dhabi Investment Office and Archer Aviation said they were speeding up plans to bring electric air taxis to Abu Dhabi.
The UAE capital is also planning to build a network of 10 vertiports as infrastructure for air taxi and eVTOL services.
Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority has said the emirate's first aerial taxi vertiport is progressing. California-based Joby Aviation conducted test flights of air taxis in Dubai last year.
The UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority expects to complete certification of air taxis by the third quarter of 2026, its director general, Saif Al Suwaidi, told The National in November.
