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Tech entrepreneur Palmer Luckey's Anduril is teaming up with Archer Aviation to create a new generation of vertical takeoff aircraft it hopes to sell to the US military.
A vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, or VTOL, can operate without a runway. VTOL aircraft include helicopters, as well as jets and tiltrotor aircraft that have the advantage of faster airspeeds. Depending on the design, these future aircraft could compete for Defense Department contracts to be logistics workhorses or multi-mission utility aircraft.
Anduril, which specializes in AI-powered vehicles for military use, has secured several multimillion-dollar contracts from the US government in recent years. Luckey founded Anduril in 2017 after previously founding virtual reality company Oculus, which he sold to Meta for $2 billion.
Archer is an aviation company that generally makes electric tiltrotor aircraft for urban use. The partnership with Aduril is the company's first project in its new defense initiative, Archer Defense.
Archer said in a news release that it will use its ability to "rapidly develop advanced VTOL aircraft using existing commercial parts" and Anduril's "deep expertise in artificial intelligence, missionization, and systems integration" to develop hybrid VTOL aircraft at a "fraction of the cost."
Archer CEO and founder Adam Goldstein said the aircraft it panned to develop with Anduril could be weaponized for military applications, or they could be used for surveillance, reconnaissance, and rescue missions, according to Tech Crunch.
Archer also raised $430 million of additional capital from investors, including Stellantis and United Airlines, the company said.
"The Archer team has deep expertise in the rapid design, engineering, and production of next-generation vertical-lift aircraft," Goldstein said in the release. "With Anduril by our side and this new influx of capital, we will accelerate the development and deployment of advanced aerospace technologies at scale."
The US military is a major buyer of VTOL aircraft. The Marine Corps flies Lockheed Martin's F-35B jump-jet, seen as a replacement for the AV-8B Harrier. And the US Army chose Bell's V-280 Valor tiltrotor to replace its UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters made by Sikorsky; the V-280 has almost twice the Blackhawk's speed.
Tiltrotors, like those built by Archer, are enticing to the US military because their mission sets could range from logistics runs to carrying soldiers on air assaults.
There may also be interest in a tiltrotor whose $84 million price tag and safety record compares favorably with Bell Boeing's embattled V-22 Osprey. The US military first commissioned the V-22 Osprey, a tiltrotor that can carry 24 passengers, in 2007. Several V-22 crashes since 2007 have killed over 50 people, earning the machine the nickname of "the widow-maker."
In November 2023, a V-22 Osprey crashed off the coast of Japan, killing eight airmen. The crash resulted in the US military grounding its entire V-22 Osprey fleet.
Anduril declined to comment on its partnership with Archer.
Shae Arnoult, senior vice president of engineering at the company, said in the news release that Anduril and Archer "share a common vision for advancing capabilities that meet urgent national security needs, and we look forward to partnering with Archer to bring advanced vertical lift aircraft to our customers."
