Sabrewing Aircraft is planning to deliver its first four Rhaegal-B heavy-lift, long-range vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) under contract with Saudi Arabiaā€™s Arabian Development and Marketing Co (ADMC) by December, despite not having started production.
Sabrewing announced in September 2020 that it had secured an exclusive representation agreement with the ADMC. The deal included an order for 102 Rhaegal-Bs and for establishing aircraft assembly, maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facilities throughout Saudi Arabia and Africa to service the Rhaegal-B fleet, according to a Sabrewing statement. Ed De Reyes, Sabrewing chairman and CEO, told Janes on 16 February that the aircraft portion of the deal is worth more than USD600 million.
A half-scale prototype of Sabrewing Aircraftā€™s Rhaegal unmanned heavy-lift, long-range cargo aircraft. The company plans to deliver its first four full-sized Rhaegal-B aircraft to the Arabian Development and Marketing Co by December, despite not having started production. (Sabrewing Aircraft)
De Reyes told Janes on 10 March that Sabrewing has completed its memorandum of purchase for a production facility, and is negotiating the final points of a shareholder purchase agreement. This should be completed in roughly one week, he said.
Sabrewing has made a partial payment for the facility. De Reyes declined to disclose the size of the facility, where it is located, and which company, if any, had previously operated the facility.
The ADMC has existing production lines and Sabrewing was not required to deliver a US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) type-certificated aircraft, De Reyes said. The ADMC required that Sabrewing build the aircraft on an FAA-certificated production line to verify quality control. This is to enable a partā€™s lineage to be traced if it is manufactured incorrectly, he added.
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