U.S.-Saudi Business Council leads AAM mission to Saudi Arabia
Earlier this month, the U.S.-Saudi Business Council (USSBC) led a delegation of 12 advanced air mobility (AAM) companies on a business development mission to Jeddah and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The delegate companies included DBT Aero, Electra.aero, e1Air, Furtem Technologies, Future Flight Global, NEXA Capital Partners, NUAIR, Piasecki Aircraft Corporation, Roboxi, Thales USA, and TruWeather Solutions.
The companies engaged with key public and private sector stakeholders in Saudi Arabia’s aviation industry to position US technology innovators as strategic partners in advancing AAM in the Kingdom.
Nexa Capital Partners and industry association NUAIR partnered with the USSBC to organise this business development mission.
Advancing AAM in the Kingdom
HE Majid Al-Kassabi, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Commerce, welcomed the mission and praised the council for bringing such advanced technologies to the Kingdom and setting the stage for long-term and mutually beneficial investment and partnership opportunities.
This sentiment was echoed in other meetings with the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), the National Competitiveness Center (NCC), the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI), Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI), NEOM, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and both the Riyadh and Jeddah Chambers of Commerce.
Furthermore, the companies engaged with private sector stakeholders, including Saudia, The Helicopter Company (THC), Flynas, Matarat, NERA, SAFE, and Riyadh Air.
Charles Hallab, President and CEO of the U.S.-Saudi Business Council, who led the mission, stated, “Our mission was more than just a visit—it was about getting business done. We brought cutting-edge US companies to Saudi Arabia to directly engage with key decision-makers and explore mutually beneficial partnerships that will advance the Kingdom’s AAM vision, ensuring Saudi Arabia’s rightful place as a regional and global leader in AAM. This is just the beginning of many impactful collaborations across this developing landscape (and airscape) of Saudi Arabia.”
During the mission, the delegate companies presented several advanced technologies.
These include hybrid electric aircraft, hydrogen-powered electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, counter-drone systems, power solutions using methanol to produce fuel cell grade hydrogen, protect airspace, advanced weather analytics vertiport infrastructure design, advanced avionics and sensors, autonomous ground vehicles for runway inspections, and an advanced air transportation operators.