Mexico’s Economy Ministry announced Friday, Oct. 9, that Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard signed a memorandum of understanding with Flying Whales, a French-Canadian airship maker, for a possible investment of up to US$300 million over three years. The headline number is big. The paperwork behind it is thin. The memorandum records shared intent, not a binding contract or permission to build.
The ministry said the plan includes 300 local jobs, three airship manufacturing bases, a pilot school and a Latin American sales office. Ebrard signed the document in Mexico City after meeting Sébastien Bougon, the company’s president. Founded in 2012, Flying Whales aims to move heavy loads by air to places without roads. Bougon said the company is weighing two to three operating bases in Mexico for wide coverage, but hasn't named a state or city.
What the Airships Could Do
“It is a solution we are developing to carry heavy, bulky and even very large loads to remote regions,” Bougon said, according to trade outlet Vanguardia Industrial. He added that the company is designing a mobile hospital to fit in the airship’s cargo hold, which it could fly to remote towns or disaster zones. For communities cut off by terrain or emergencies, that's an intriguing prospect.
The aircraft under development is the LCA60T, short for Large Capacity Airship 60 Tons. The company’s website lists its dimensions as 200 metres long and 50 metres in diameter, with a 60-tonne payload lifted by about 180,000 cubic metres of helium. The cargo hold is 96 metres long, and larger loads could hang beneath the airship on slings. The company lists a top speed of 100 kilometres an hour. It says the craft can hover and lower cargo without a runway, port or highway, potentially carrying industrial-plant parts, wind turbines and high-voltage power towers. 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.
Flying Whales says helium lift requires less energy to fly and cuts CO2 emissions. It plans electric propulsion based on hydrogen fuel cells, but it hasn't fielded them yet.
The Gaps in the Announcement
The company’s own website timeline still lists ground and flight tests, certification and the start of operations as future steps. The report said it couldn't confirm that the LCA60T had flown. Airships also face weather limits, especially strong winds, and Mexico’s aviation regulator would have to approve operations. No application had been reported.
The company hasn't published the memorandum’s full text. It’s unclear what Mexico may have promised in return, including possible tax incentives, land or airspace rules, and whether the potential US$300 million would come from the company, its shareholders or local partners. Investment pledges announced in Mexico may later change in size or timing, the report said, and it suggested judging this one by whether a first base is built. No airship flights in Mexico have been scheduled.
The Trade Backdrop
The timing matters. Mexico, described as one of the United States’ biggest trading partners, is courting foreign factories ahead of the 2027 review of the USMCA trade pact. The announcement came as Washington pressed Mexico on trade, energy and security. The Office of the US Trade Representative had opened public comment on the 2027 joint review of the agreement among the United States, Mexico and Canada. The article described President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government as keen to show steady investment; she met the U.S. ambassador and American business leaders on Oct. 8. The article also cited continuing labour disputes under the pact.
The deal doesn't involve a listed company, and no shares or bonds are affected. The airships could eventually reduce the cost of moving oversized parts to remote sites.
Why This Matters: Three hundred jobs and a possible $300 million sound like progress, but a non-binding memorandum guarantees none of it. Because the full text hasn't been published, the public can't see what incentives, land or airspace concessions Mexico may have offered, or who actually pays. That's a transparency question for any government trading public benefits for private investment. It lands while labour disputes under the USMCA continue, reminding voters that job-creation promises are only as good as the standards and enforcement behind them. The remote communities and disaster zones the company says it wants to serve would benefit only if regulators approve and certify the aircraft and the company actually builds it. Until someone builds a first base, this remains an announcement, and voters have good reason to ask for the details.