Most aviators familiar with Archer Aviation know the company as a developer of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxis. But the firm is expanding its horizons.
At the Dubai Airshow on Monday, Archer announced a fresh agreement with autonomous systems developer Anduril and Edge Group—a United Arab Emirates (UAE) based defense conglomerate that sells arms and munitions to law enforcement, security, and military customers—to lend its electric powertrain to Anduril’s newly announced Omen concept.
The agreement deepens Archer’s relationship with Anduril, with which it partnered in December to devise a hybrid-powered variant of Midnight for “critical defense applications.”
“As we’ve familiarized ourselves with each other’s technology, new and interesting opportunities to collaborate beyond the scope of the initial hybrid aircraft project have been uncovered,” Adam Goldstein, founder and CEO of Archer, said in a statement.
The deal also marks the first time Archer has made its proprietary electric powertrain available to a third party. Per Goldstein, the sale of powertrains to defense customers presents a new, “high upside” revenue stream for the company. Competitor Beta Technologies—whose electric chargers Archer purchased in 2023—has pursued a similar strategy.
“While most see our Midnight eVTOL as an aircraft, we view Midnight as a platform that plays host to a wide range of new and exciting aerospace technologies that will be leveraged beyond our aircraft,” Goldstein said. “Our powertrain deal with Anduril is the first of what we expect to be many examples of this.”
Opportunities for Archer
Archer’s flagship product is Midnight—an eVTOL air taxi designed for a pilot to fly up to four passengers on 10-20-minute, 20-50 sm urban trips. In the U.S., the company is partnering with United Airlines and Southwest Airlines to launch home-to-airport services. It also has plans for service in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the UAE, potentially including a corridor connecting the two cities.
Midnight’s key differentiator is its eVTOL capability, which allows it to be runway independent while producing a fraction of the noise and emissions of a helicopter. In addition to fixed wings, it features a 12-tilt-6 propeller configuration. Six independent battery packs each power a pair of propellers, half of which remain stationary for VTOL. The other half tilt forward to support cruise flight.
Archer’s 400,000-square-foot Midnight mass production hub opened in Covington, Georgia, in December. In partnership with Stellantis, it aims to eventually churn out 650 aircraft per year.
Complementing the Covington site is an “automotive style” battery production hub at the company’s facilities in San Jose, California. According to Archer, it will produce 15,000 battery packs annually—enough to support production of 2,500 Midnight aircraft.
Though about 80 percent of Midnight’s components and subsystems come from outside suppliers, the powertrain is built in house and “highly optimized for a range of commercial and defense aviation use cases,” Archer said. Its lithium-ion battery packs contain cylindrical cells, which according to the company offer better safety, performance, and scalability than other forms.
Each pack is equipped with a proprietary thermal runaway capability designed to prevent fires. Archer has put them through a series of 50-foot drop tests—akin to the fuel tank drop test for conventional aircraft systems—to gauge their resilience. The company is conducting additional testing with NASA under a Space Act agreement to further refine the packs’ safety and performance.
Portions of the battery manufacturing process, Archer said, are automated to improve reliability and scale.
Omen will be the first third-party product to receive Midnight’s powertrain. Anduril last week announced a joint venture with Edge Group to produce the autonomous aircraft in the UAE and U.S. The UAE has already committed to an initial acquisition of 50 Omen systems, the company said.
Per Anduril, Omen is a hover-to-cruise, runway independent aircraft designed to offer the endurance, payload, and mission flexibility of a Group 3 drone, which have a maximum takeoff weight between 55 and 1,320 pounds and airspeed below 250 knots. It will be dual use, serving military missions such as maritime surveillance and logistics resupply as well as commercial applications such as humanitarian relief. Full-rate production is expected by 2028.
New Horizons
The autonomous systems developer’s use of Midnight’s powertrain is a major vote of confidence in the technology, and it could allow Archer to diversify beyond aircraft.
Beta Technologies, for example, has installed about 50 chargers in the U.S. in partnership with FBOs such as Atlantic Aviation and Signature Aviation. Another eVTOL developer, Joby Aviation, is also developing chargers in-house. Both Beta’s and Joby’s systems are designed to accommodate any electric vehicle, air or ground.
Evidently, Midnight’s powertrain has similar potential to be a flexible solution for multiple aircraft systems.
Though the air taxi is not yet approved for commercial passenger service, Archer may be able to point to its propulsion system as a flight-proven offering once it reaches operational cadence. Those third-party sales could keep the company afloat as it looks to scale widely ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. There, Midnight may ferry spectators, dignitaries, VIPs, and even athletes between Olympic venues.
