Emerging American defense contractor Anduril and U.S.-based eVTOL startup Archer Aviation this morning announced an exclusive new partnership to jointly develop a hybrid VTOL aircraft for critical defense applications, targeting a potential program of record from the DOD. Those are programs that Congress not only intends to fund but has appropriated funding for them in the Future Years Defense Program.
The partners hope to bring together Anduril’s expertise in AI and systems integration and Archer’s ability to rapidly develop advanced VTOL aircraft using existing commercial parts and supply chains in a combined effort to accelerate time-to-market at a fraction of the cost of more traditional alternatives.
As part of the announcement, Archer launched a new program, Archer Defense, which will be supported, in part, by some $430 million in additional equity capital the company plans to also divvy up for other “general corporate purposes.”
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