The Mexican aviation authority has certified the first new aircraft type in seven decades to be fully developed and manufactured in Mexico.
The two-seater light sports aircraft, called Halcón 2.1, was produced by Horizontec, a private firm set up in 2014 by two entrepreneurs, Giovanni Angelucci and Eduardo Carrasco, in the city of Celaya, Guanajuato, in Central Mexico.
The Halcón 2.1 has been designed primarily with flight training schools in mind. It is made mostly of composites and powered by a Rotax 915is engine.
Shortly after obtaining certification, Mexico’s Minister of the Economy, Marcelo Ebrard, marked this milestone by flying on an Halcón 2.1, taking off on September 10, 2025, from Felipe Ángeles International Airport (NLU), just north of Mexico City.
The launch of Halcón 2.1 has been hailed in the Mexican media as proof of the industrial capabilities of the country, which last produced a fully domestically developed aircraft in 1957.
In a statement delivered during the presentation of Halcón 2.1, Ebrard highlighted that while Mexico already produces a broad range of aerospace parts and components, the development of a full aircraft represents a qualitative step forward for the country.