Archer Aviation teams up with Palmer Luckey’s military tech startup to create an ‘autonomous attack rotorcraft’

Electric air taxis could soon start packing some serious firepower. Archer Aviation has teamed up with Anduril Industries, the military technology startup cofounded by Palmer Luckey, to create what the companies describe as a “Group 5 autonomous attack rotorcraft.” The jointly developed aircraft, called “Thunder,” is a hybrid- electric vehicle “designed to multiply the combat power of current and next-generation crewed attack and assault aircraft,” the companies said Monday. The vehicle is intended for both defense and commercial use cases. The initial list of commercial customers is expected to be announced by Archer later this week, with its first flight planned for next year. Thunder was announced at the Farnborough International Airshow in England, and effectively may allow Archer to tap into the defense market at a time when battlefield technology is rapidly evolving. Shares of Archer Aviation (NYSE: ACHR) were up more than 10% on the news. The commercial variant of Anduril and Archer’s jointly developed aircraft platform. [Image: Archer Aviation] “Clean sheet design” It’s the latest in a series of developments within the electric air taxi industry in recent years. Archer, for example, has made headlines by becoming the official air taxi provider for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. However, most of the news so far has concerned commercial transportation use. Given Thunder’s dual designated purposes, Archer’s leadership says it needed to be built from scratch, and with a partner in the defense industry. “This mission required a clean sheet design, built from the ground up to meet the needs of modern commercial and defense applications,” said Adam Goldstein, founder and CEO of Archer, in a statement. “We couldn’t simply tweak our existing aircraft. Instead, we took a bold first principles approach alongside Anduril to develop what we believe is the most sophisticated vertical lift aircraft ever made.” The development comes amid an increase in drone warfare and autonomous defense technology being used in conflicts in Ukraine and other places. Thunder is designed to be flown alongside other military aircraft in battle zones. “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,” said Shane Arnott, SVP of Maneuver Dominance at Anduril, in a statement. Anduril was founded in 2017 and most recently raised $5 billion in a Series H round led by Andreessen Horowitz and Thrive Capital, for a valuation of $61 billion.