Flying Whales and Safran Electrical & Power have signed an agreement to fit the LCA60T airships with electrical generation, distribution and conversion systems.

The LCA60T, from Flying Whales, will be able to load and unload up to 60 tonnes of freight in hover flight. The airship is intended for the wood longshoring, freight and transport markets. It provides a solution to global requirements for transporting heavy or oversized loads, for point-to-point transfer at low operating costs and reduced environmental impact compared to other options.

Safran will provide all of the electrical systems for powering the equipment and managing the non-propulsive electrical networks of the airship including the electrical generation system; the complete electrical distribution system; the power converters, which will convert 115 V alternating current into 28 V direct current; and the batteries.

The contract concerns the entire fleet of 150 airships for the first ten years of production. Safran will deliver the first electrical equipment at the end of 2022 for ground tests. Meanwhile, Flying Whales is planning the first flight of its airship for the end of 2024 and entry into service at the beginning of 2026.

“To carry out an aeronautical program as innovative and ambitious as the LCA60T, the quality of the industrial partnerships is crucial. Working hand-in-hand with Safran Electrical & Power is most certainly a guarantee of success in electrifying the world's largest aircraft,” says Vincent Guibout, technical director and deputy managing director of Flying Whales. “The architecture of the LCA60T's electrical system requires us to venture into an unprecedented area. This is what the teams at Safran Electrical & Power and our teams are succeeding in doing.”