EHang, the Chinese urban air mobility (UAM) generation platform company, announced that Japan’s first UAM has been established in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture.
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This facility serves as a demonstration flight site, surface infrastructure, and maintenance base for EHang’s various electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) drones in the region, in addition to the EH216-S. This UAM hub is an important milestone in Japan’s complex air mobility. industry.
At the opening rite in the presence of Mr. Tatsuo Igarashi, Mayor of the City of Tsukuba, the EH216-S unmanned eVTOL made its first flight in the Kanto region for air tourism.
The creation of the UAM Center is the result of a strategic partnership between EHang and AirX Inc. (AirX), a Japanese virtual air mobility platform company. Located on the site of the former helicopter command and half owned by the Ibaraki prefectural government, the UAM center houses hangars with a capacity for about 25 EH216-S aircraft. The shared landing pad, used by helicopters and eVTOLs, covers a domain of approximately 30,000 square meters. Developed through AirX in collaboration with Tsukuba Airlines, the UAM Center is designed to meet the evolving desires of next-generation air mobility encompassing eVTOL drones, helicopters, and personal jets.
EHang has been actively expanding its presence in the global market. To date, the EH216-S eVTOL unmanned aircraft has flown in 12 cities in Japan, demonstrating its versatility in a variety of use cases, adding air tours, island transport, air logistics, and emergency services.
In 2023, EHang will be a member of Japan’s Public-Private Committee for Advanced Air Mobility. This popularity underscores EHang’s pivotal role in advancing cutting-edge airlift projects in Japan, especially as the sole unmanned eVTOL provider among the committee’s 56 members.
Tezuka Kiwamu, Founder and CEO of AirX, commented, “Through the status quo of this UAM Center, our purpose is to present air mobility flight reports to the public. In the long term, we plan to offer air tourism facilities with the EH216. -S eVTOL aircraft at this location. Looking ahead, AirX is preparing to open more UAM centers in Tokyo, solidifying our commitment to lead UAM’s progress and transform the long-term of transportation in Japan.
Huazhi Hu, Founder, Chairman and CEO of EHang, said, “Congratulations on the opening of Japan’s first UAM center. This is a key milestone for the UAM, bringing us closer to the start of a new era of public transport. EHang will continue to collaborate with our partners to announce safe, autonomous, and environmentally friendly UAM responses in Japan, as we aim to bring our unmanned eVTOLs to a global audience and into the lives of others around the world.
The fuselage of the EH216-S is made of a carbon fiber composite.
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