Aridge, formerly known as Xpeng AeroHT, has completed a public manned flight of its “Land Aircraft Carrier” in Dubai and signed regional purchase agreements for 600 units, the company said in a statement. The deals bring Aridge’s global backlog to more than 7,000 orders as it moves toward mass production and delivery.
The Dubai demonstration, part of Aridge’s expansion in the Middle East, was conducted in manned mode and witnessed by local dignitaries and more than 100 international media outlets, according to the firm. Aridge said the bulk purchase agreements were signed with Gulf groups including Ali & Sons Group, Almana Group, AlSayer Group, and the Chinese Business Council in the UAE. Consumer sales are expected to begin as early as 2027. The UAE is the first international market the company has entered.
The milestone follows regulatory progress in China. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) accepted the type certificate application for the Land Aircraft Carrier’s flight body in March 2024 and the production certification application for the airframe in May, initiating a formal review of Aridge’s mass production system. The company also completed a smart manufacturing base in Guangzhou capable of producing up to 10,000 air modules annually.
The Land Aircraft Carrier is a modular eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) system in which an air module detaches from and reconnects to a six-wheeled ground module for storage, charging, and road travel. The configuration is designed to address common challenges facing electric aircraft, including storage and recharging infrastructure. The air module supports both automatic and manual flight and uses a simplified single-stick control system to lower the skill threshold for pilots.
Aridge said it emphasized safety and redundancy in the design. Its technical brief highlights a triple-redundant fly-by-wire system, dual redundancy for propulsion and power systems, automatic rotor failure responses, and extensive environmental and single-point failure testing across hundreds of components.
The rebrand to Aridge, derived from “air” and “bridge,” was unveiled alongside the Dubai flight as part of the company’s broader globalization strategy. Founder Zhao Deli said the new name reflects its mission to “connect sky and earth” and build a low-altitude mobility ecosystem.
Aridge also disclosed ongoing development of the A868, a six-seat, full tiltrotor hybrid eVTOL designed for longer-range and higher-speed travel. The company targets a range of more than 500 kilometers and a top speed exceeding 360 kilometers per hour but has not disclosed the project’s current development stage.
The company said it has built a roughly 1,200-member R&D team and invested more than USD 600 million to date, with nearly 1,000 patent filings worldwide. It also reported agreements to develop more than 130 flight camps in China, with plans to expand the network as commercialization progresses.
Key milestones to monitor include the CAAC’s certification outcomes, the timing of initial customer deliveries, and subsequent regulatory approvals in the UAE and other target markets as Aridge transitions from demonstration flights to commercial operations.