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). 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. 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. 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.
Kelley Aerospace will invest around $150 million over the next five years on initiatives, including job creation and manufacturing. 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. Kelley Aerospace would train and upskill at least 250 locals to retrofit private jets and manufacture carbon fibre for planes. 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. Kelley Aerospace said it is ready to move forward with a prototype, and will need to train employees to help with its manufacturing.
Registered in Singapore since 2008, Kelley Aerospace has several carbon fibre manufacturing, production, as well as research and development businesses in countries such as the US, China, Japan and South Korea. The company manufactures carbon fibre and fabricates carbon fibre components for private jets. These programmes could “spearhead the development of high-quality carbon fibre design and manufacturing capabilities in Singapore. The firm is developing a new supersonic UAV, called Arrow, which its engineers have worked on over the past few years. It is ready to move forward with a prototype. Next, it plans to design, manufacture and assemble UAVs – including its Black Eagle UAV – in Singapore, which it will need a local workforce for. The company also said it aims to collaborate with the universities and polytechnics in Singapore for research and development.
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