JOUAV Welcomes Saudi Aramco Delegation for CW-15 PoC Evaluation

Chengdu, China – May 2025 – JOUAV welcomed a delegation from Saudi Aramco, led by Mr. Soliman Walaie, Senior Engineering Consultant from Aramco’s UAV & Robotics Group. The group included seven senior technical consultants and visited JOUAV’s headquarters in Chengdu for technical discussions and on-site flight evaluations.

The visit was organized and supported by ADREK, JOUAV’s authorized partner in Saudi Arabia. Mr. Omar I. Abunayyan, CEO of ADREK, accompanied the delegation throughout the visit and facilitated in-depth exchanges between both teams.

Members of Saudi Aramco’s UAV & Robotics Group, led by Mr. Soliman Walaie (fourth from left), joined by ADREK CEO Mr. Omar I. Abunayyan (third from left), JOUAV Founder & CEO Mr. Ren Bin (fifth from left), and Executive Vice President Ms. Li Xiaoyan (second from right) at JOUAV Tech Park.

A Focus on Real-World Operations

Saudi Aramco is currently delivering large-scale energy infrastructure projects, including thousands of kilometers of new pipelines. Operating and maintaining assets of this scale requires UAV systems that can perform reliably in demanding environments, rather than standard, off-the-shelf solutions.

JOUAV’s Founder and CEO, Mr. Ren Bin, together with Executive Vice President Ms. Li Xiaoyan, personally welcomed the delegation. The visit began with a walkthrough of JOUAV’s production facilities and exhibition area, followed by technical presentations and open discussions.

Inside the Exhibition Hall: ADREK CEO Mr. Omar I. Abunayyan introduces JOUAV’s latest UAS technology and manufacturing milestones to the Saudi Aramco delegation.

During the meetings, Mr. Walaie shared how Saudi Aramco currently deploys unmanned aircraft systems for pipeline inspection, emergency leak response, and site security. While multi-rotor drones remain widely used, the delegation expressed strong interest in VTOL fixed-wing platforms that offer longer endurance and better adaptability to high-temperature, large-area operations.

Collaborative Session: Leadership teams from Saudi Aramco, ADREK, and JOUAV engage in a deep-dive technical discussion regarding pipeline inspection requirements and future automation strategies.

CW-15D Proof of Concept Flight

A key highlight of the visit was the Proof of Concept (PoC) flight evaluation of the CW-15D VTOL fixed-wing UAV, conducted on May 19.

During the demonstration, the CW-15D showcased several capabilities relevant to industrial operations, including:

• AI-based target recognition, enabling real-time identification and tracking of infrastructure assets
• Advanced safety protocols, including precise automated return and landing following a simulated GPS signal loss
• End-to-end automation, showcased through live demonstrations of the JOUAV VTOL Hangar and JoCloud platform, highlighting autonomous drone operations from remote stations

The Saudi Aramco delegation observes a live demonstration of the JoCloud platform and VTOL Hangar system.

The PoC flight was completed smoothly, and the Saudi Aramco team expressed positive feedback on the aircraft’s overall performance and system stability.

“The CW-15D demonstration gave us a clear view of how VTOL fixed-wing UAVs can support large-scale inspection tasks,” said Mr. Soliman Walaie, Senior Engineering Consultant at Saudi Aramco. “Its endurance, level of automation, and adaptability to complex pipeline environments are particularly relevant to our ongoing robotics and digital transformation initiatives.”

Looking Ahead

The momentum of the visit was further amplified on May 26 at the Aramco Technology Forum in Shanghai, where Mr. Walaie briefed Aramco’s Senior VP on the successful Chengdu trials, citing the CW-15’s performance as a potential benchmark for future deployments.

The roadmap for this partnership is already in motion. In collaboration with ADREK, JOUAV is preparing for follow-up flight trials in Saudi Arabia to validate the CW-15D’s endurance under extreme thermal conditions. Furthermore, both parties are discussing the implementation of localized private cloud infrastructure to ensure data sovereignty and secure flight management.