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Singapore’s Kelley Aerospace sets sights on supersonic UAV and business jet markets

FlightGlobal | By: Alfred Chua | December 4, 2020

Singapore-based aerospace company Kelley Aerospace has its sights set on the supersonic air transport, with the rollout of two in-development concepts in business aviation and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

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The company is also looking to create more than 250 new jobs at its Singapore base, and train around 500 pilots in five years in a new general aviation pilot aviation academy.

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At a launch event held on 3 December, Kelley Aerospace shed more light on its two supersonic concepts. The first, known as the Arrow, is a supersonic UAV, designed as a carbon fibre monocoque.

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Kelley Aerospace says it is in the process of constructing a prototype of the Arrow UAV, before proceeding on to flight tests with a quarter-scaled model, as a proof of concept.

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Company chairman Avraham Kelley tells FlightGlobal the design is the first of its kind among UAVs. A model of the UAV — built to actual size — sits at the company’s hangar at Seletar Aerospace Park.

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Media: News

Kelley Aerospace to invest $150m in projects, train 250 locals

The Straits Times | By: Clement Yong | December 4, 2020

SINGAPORE - The battered aviation industry took another step towards recovery on Thursday (Dec 3) with news that Kelley Aerospace will invest around $150 million over the next five years on initiatives, including job creation and manufacturing.

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The projects will be undertaken at the company's first facility in Seletar Aerospace Park, a former military airbase that is now home to global and home-grown firms.

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Kelley Aerospace said on Thursday it would train and upskill at least 250 locals to retrofit private jets and manufacture carbon fibre for planes. It is also looking to open a flying academy to train pilots for its jets.

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The American firm is launching three programmes here.

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One involves buying 100 aircraft by 2024 that will fly private clients around the world, with in-flight meals prepared by Michelin chef Bruno Menard.

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Clients will be by invitation only for the private network, which will operate out of Singapore, South Korea, Japan and China.

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The second programme is to design, manufacture and assemble unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including the Arrow UAV, which has been worked on by engineers over the past few years.

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Kelley Aerospace said it is ready to move forward with a prototype, and will need to train employees to help with its manufacturing.

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Kelley Aerospace to take 250 aviation jobs under its wing; eyes S$150m investment

The Business Times | By: Olivia Poh | December 4, 2020

AIRCRAFT manufacturer Kelley Aerospace is looking to bring more than 250 locals under its wing as it moves more of its operations to the city-state, a bright spot in a turbulent industry hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. It is also looking to open an academy to train about 500 pilots in five years.

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Its programmes, if successfully based in Singapore, can contribute about S$150 million to the Republic over the next five years, the company said at a media briefing on Thursday evening.

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The aircraft manufacturer, which targets the private travel space, will train and upskill the necessary workforce of aviation and composite specialists in-house. It aims to tap aviation crew displaced by the crisis to prop up its workforce.

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The company manufactures carbon fibre and fabricates carbon fibre components for private jets. It also designs, develops and manufactures frameworks and components of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Media: Text
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