Mexico’s Economy Ministry said Friday that Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard signed a memorandum of understanding with Flying Whales for a possible investment of up to US$300 million over three years. The announcement points to potential factories and jobs, not a binding contract or permission to build. Key terms that could shape the project remain largely out of public view.
The ministry said the plan includes 300 local jobs, three airship manufacturing bases, a pilot school and a Latin American sales office. But officials haven’t identified a state or city for the proposed bases, and they haven’t published the memorandum’s full text. It remains unclear what Mexico may have promised in return, including possible tax incentives, land or airspace rules.
“It is a solution we are developing to carry heavy, bulky and even very large loads to remote regions,” Flying Whales president Sébastien Bougon said, according to Vanguardia Industrial. He said the company is considering two to three operating bases in Mexico. No location is settled.
A pledge, not a build-out
The possible US$300 million investment comes with an unanswered question: the report says it’s unclear whether Flying Whales, its shareholders or local partners would provide the money. Investment pledges announced in Mexico can later change in size or timing. The report suggests judging this proposal by whether the company builds a first base, rather than by the announcement itself.
The aircraft, called the LCA60T, remains under development. Flying Whales’ website describes it as 200 metres long and 50 metres in diameter, with a 60-tonne payload lifted using about 180,000 cubic metres of helium. Its cargo hold is 96 metres long; larger loads could hang beneath it on slings. The company lists a top speed of 100 kilometres an hour.
The design aims to hover and lower cargo without a runway, port or highway. The company says it could carry industrial-plant parts, wind turbines and high-voltage power towers. The report notes that energy and mining sites in Mexico can sit in mountains or far from good roads, while wind blades and transformer parts often require special convoys, road closures and police escorts. Those are the transport problems the company says its airship could address.
The apparatus still has the final say
Flying Whales says helium lift requires less energy and cuts CO2 emissions. The company plans electric propulsion using hydrogen fuel cells, but it hasn’t yet fielded them. Its website still lists ground and flight tests, certification and the start of operations as future steps. The report couldn’t confirm that the LCA60T had flown. Strong winds and other weather limits remain concerns, and Mexico’s aviation regulator would have to approve operations. No application had been reported.
Bougon also said the company is designing a mobile hospital that could fit in the cargo hold and fly to remote towns or disaster zones. That’s a company plan, not a service currently operating in Mexico. The announcement describes no community-led response, mutual-aid effort or local decision-making process around the proposed bases.
Mexico is courting foreign factories ahead of the 2027 review of the USMCA trade pact, as Washington presses Mexico on trade, energy and security. The Office of the US Trade Representative opened public comment on the joint review. President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government was described as keen to show steady investment; she met the U.S. ambassador and American business leaders on Oct. 8. The report also cited continuing labour disputes under the pact. The ministry has announced a possibility, while the public still lacks the memorandum’s full terms and the project has no scheduled airship flights in Mexico.