Santa Lucía, (EFE) .- The Oaxaca Aerospace company announced that the first plane designed and manufactured in Mexico will occur for the market from 2026 with technology from the south of the country.
The Pegasus PE-21 A model is the first of two prototypes of the family company, with a tactical, training and surveillance approach, according to the assembly company at the Mexico Aerospace Fair (FAMXE) 2025, in the Santa Lucía Air Military Base.
The family company milestone, with only 25 workers for the entire manufacturing process, occurs after 14 years of development and investments for almost 30 million dollars only for design.
The PE-21A model that the company will market will be accompanied by the P-400T.
“The production would be ready to start faster in 1 year and we could start manufacturing according to the orders that we have the first aircraft. We would be delivering it to 12 months,” said Raúl Fernández, president of Oaxaca Aerospace.
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The PE-21S is a two-seater aircraft with a couple, with 1,600 kilometers of reach and an autonomy of up to five hours, with a speed of 210 knots.
This model is designed for basic training, surveillance, rescue and recreational aviation.
Context and production capabilities
The model was developed with technical support from institutions such as the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN), the Aeronautical University in Querétaro (UNAQ), the Polytechnic University of Madrid and the National Institute for Research in the United States Aviation (NIAR, in English).
Oaxaca Aerospace already has a production plant in that southern entity, and projects to manufacture up to 52 units per year, although it will begin with five or six, depending on the demand.
Fernández explained that one of its competitive advantages will be its price, which will be around 3 million dollars, which represents only 30% of the cost of similar aircraft in the market, such as Texanas, with an approximate value of 10 million dollars.
Second prototype and future vision
The second prototype, Pegasus P-400T, still in development, is designed for advanced tactical missions and light attack, with a more powerful engine (up to 600 horsepower), reinforced retractable train and Garmin G1000 plane.
This prototype could be equipped with light weapons, according to the needs of the client, and adapt to new fuel technologies, such as hydrogen.
“You could make missions very similar to those of a (model) Texan, but with much more accessible acquisition and operation costs,” said Rodrigo Fernández, general manager of Oaxaca Aerospace.
Oaxaca Aerospace visualizes a market in emerging countries in America, Africa and Asia, where used aircraft are usually the only option, and need modern, adaptable and low maintenance alternatives.
Manuel Pérez Cárdenas, executive advisor to the Presidency of the Business Coordinating Council (CCE), said that this company has the potential to capture 1% of the global light aircraft market, which would mean a demand for 50 aircraft per year, similar to its minimum production estimate.
The seal ‘Made in Mexico’
The general manager explained that the company seeks to register its aircraft under the ‘made in Mexico’ label, amid the impulse to the ‘Mexico Government’ Plan to reinforce national production and replace imports in the midst of commercial tensions with the United States.
President Claudia Sheinbaum highlighted the strategic role for the country of the aeronautical industry, with a sustained annual growth expectation of 15%, which would double its market value in the next four years, during the inauguration of the FAMX 2025 Fair.
The president stressed that the Mexican aerospace sector already exceeds a value of 11.2 billion dollars and could reach 22.7 billion in 2029.
Mexico is among the five countries with the greatest Aerospace Foreign Investment and is the world exporter of components of the sector, according to the Mexican Federation of the Aerospace Industry (Femia).
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