Airidge – the recently rebranded Xpeng Aeroht, Xpeng’s flying car unit – has secured orders for 600 units of its “Land Aircraft Carrier” in the Middle East, marking the largest overseas bulk order in the flying car sector to date, according to multiple press reports from the Middle East.
“During the event, which featured the first overseas public manned flight demonstration of the “Land Aircraft Carrier,” Xpeng Aeroht signed purchase agreements with UAE’s Ali & Sons Group, Qatar’s Almana Group, Kuwait’s AlSayer Group, and the UAE Chinese Business Council. This brings the company’s total order book to 7,000 units globally,” said Car News China.
The company’s manufacturing facility in Guangzhou was fully completed by the end of September, according to the same reports. The facility will support the company’s plans to begin mass production and delivery of the “Land Aircraft Carrier” by 2026, making it the first mass-produced flying car in China and globally. “At the event, the company also unveiled its hybrid long-range flying car under development, named A868. The vehicle is designed with a range exceeding 500km and a maximum flight speed of over 360km/h. The A868 is expected to make its first appearance in Guangzhou this November.”
Meanwhile, DefenceIndex has posted on X a video of military pilots completing training on the defence variant of the LandAircraft Carrier – the X3-F. “After six months of semi-militarized training, the first group of pilots officially began training on the X3-F aircraft. They were previously helicopter pilots or fixed-wing captains and instructors. Our “land-based aircraft carrier” X3-F is easier for them to operate, and they can fly solo after their first flight,” according to the narrative of the video. “These eight pilots are the key pilots we are training. They will respectively undertake the model certification test flights and later customer pilot training. Through multiple stages of test flights, a scientific, safe, and rigorous flight manual and training outline will be established, allowing our “land-based aircraft carrier” captains to fly safely and freely.”
For more information
https://x.com/Defence_Index/status/1977008701417677220
(Image: A368 design – Airidge)