Flying Whales, BLP Group to set up cargo airship assembly line in India
Flying Whales said its LCA60T airship solution has already secured over 90 pre-commercial agreements globally
Flying Whales said its LCA60T airship solution has already secured over 90 pre-commercial agreements globally
Flying Whales said its LCA60T airship solution has already secured over 90 pre-commercial agreements globally
New Delhi: In a major boost to India's aerospace manufacturing ambitions, France-based Flying Whales and BLP Group on Thursday announced the first phase of a strategic partnership to establish a cargo airship manufacturing ecosystem in the country.
The announcement, aligned with the official summit between French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, envisages setting up a Final Assembly Line (FAL) for the LCA60T cargo airship in India.
The agreement marks a step toward establishing Flying Whales' third global industrial hub—after France and Canada—and is expected to position India as a key centre for next-generation, sustainable cargo airship manufacturing, the companies said in a joint statement on Thursday. The facility is also expected to serve markets across the Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions.
According to the statement, the proposed investment could generate over 300 high-skilled jobs in the aeronautics sector and help develop a domestic aerospace supply chain, strengthening India's role as a manufacturing and innovation hub in sustainable aviation. "The LCA60T will unlock new possibilities for infrastructure, clean energy, defence, and humanitarian access across the Middle East and Asia Pacific," said BLP Group CEO Tejpreet S Chopra.
The partnership will extend beyond manufacturing to include operations, services, and long-term technology deployment. Once fully realised, the project is expected to support logistics in remote and inaccessible regions, infrastructure development, disaster response, and clean-energy deployment.
"Like with France & region Nouvelle-Aquitaine, with Canada & Quebec, FLYING WHALES and India are not merely manufacturing cargo airships, we are pioneering a new paradigm of sustainable transportation solution that will connect the unreachable, empower the underserved, and decarbonise heavy-lift logistics at scale," said Flying Whales president Sebastien Bougon.
Flying Whales said its LCA60T airship solution has already secured over 90 pre-commercial agreements globally through its subsidiary, Flying Whales Services, with applications spanning civil and defence logistics, renewable energy, construction, humanitarian aid, and mobile healthcare.
The proposed hub in Tamil Nadu is expected to act as a key base for deploying the technology across regions with challenging terrain and growing infrastructure needs.