The second shoe has dropped on a partnership between electric vertical and takeoff and landing aircraft company Archer Aviation and defense technology company Anduril Industries Inc.
Two days after announcing at the Farnborough International Airshow in the UK, the companies will develop a dual-use autonomous vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) platform, on Wednesday Archer and Anduril took the wraps off the commercial version, named Halo.
The defense version, unveiled Monday, is named Thunder.
Both versions will share the same airframe, series-electric hybrid powertrain and core systems, with configurable payload depending on requirements of each mission.
The autonomous aircraft will also feature dual tiltrotors, which the companies say provides the opportunity to vary rotor RPM “to maintain efficiency across flight regimes, reducing power demand and fuel burn in cruise and minimizing noise for operations in suburban and noise-sensitive environments.”
Both the Thunder and Halo are engineered for low-cost, high-volume production and designed to packed into a standard shipping container that can transported by land, sea or air.
Autonomous VTOLs offer lower-cost operation and no risk to human pilots in dangerous situations, plus the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft are able to operate in small spaces without the need for expansive runways.
The companies said uses for the Halo include:
- Regular resupply and cargo runs to oil, gas and wind platforms.
- Transporting heavy, time-sensitive freight flown between hubs, ports and distribution points to locations fixed-wing aircraft can’t reach.
- Emergency supply into disaster zones, wildfire logistics and time-sensitive therapies flown direct from freight hubs to hospitals.
- Long-range autonomous operations in support of maritime missions.
“Over the past eight years we’ve engineered, tested and scaled the technology this platform is built on. The powertrain, the batteries, the motors, the manufacturing. We partnered with Anduril to take all of that knowledge and build something new: a clean-sheet aircraft in a completely different class of range, speed and payload. I believe this is the most sophisticated vertical lift aircraft platform ever developed—it’s exactly what our customers need,” said Adam Goldstein, founder and CEO of Archer, in a statement.
The defense variant Thunder is designed to boost “the combat power of current and next-generation crewed attack and assault aircraft,” the companies said in a release.
A number of test flights have already been conducted with full-scale surrogate aircraft. Thunder’s first flight is planned for 2027.
“From raw performance to producibility, harnessing the best technologies from the commercial eVTOL market for defense is central to how Thunder will deliver operational value to our customers. The clean-sheet, dual-use platform that we’ve built with Archer truly represents a step change in capability,” said Shane Arnott, senior vice president of maneuver dominance at Anduril, in a statement.
Electra announces production facility
Ohio-based Electra Aero also took advantage of the closely-watched Farnborough Air Show to announce plans to build a production facility in Springfield, in the western part of the state to build its EL9 Ultra-Short aircraft.
The Ultra-Short can take off or land in just 150 feet of space.
The new factory represents an $850 million investment and will create 1,975 new jobs, with construction set to begin next year, Electra said, in a release.
The 96-acre facility will initially have capacity to build 400 aircraft a year, with plans to boost that to 800 in the future.
“This agreement is the moment that our vision moves from demonstration into reality,” said Electra CEO Mark Allen, in a statement.
A plane/camper combo
Here’s something completely different. It’s a small plane that doubles as a camper from Vashon Aircraft. The Woodinville, Washington company calls it “a truck you can fly.”
The Ranger Grand Teton is an all-metal aircraft built to withstand punishment in harsh conditions that one might encounter “overlanding” in the backcountry, the company said.
Its landing gear is designed to handle dirt, grass, and gravel and the Continental engine is a workhorse Vashon claims “starts every time.”
The Ranger Grand Teton can handle 550 pounds of fuel, people and their stuff.
At the end of a day in backcountry, the Ranger Grand Teton’s cabin becomes, well, a cabin. The front seats fold into a flat floor long enough for someone as tall as 6’4” to stretch out and sleep, Varshon says.
It’ll cost you more than a tent however with a starting price of $241,000. The order book is open now with deliveries this fall.
