Archer and Anduril unveil dual-use autonomous VTOL aircraft

Archer Aviation and defense company Anduril unveiled a jointly developed autonomous hybrid-electric tiltrotor aircraft at Farnborough on July 20, offered in a commercial variant Archer calls Halo and a defense variant Anduril calls Thunder that share a common architecture. The series hybrid-electric design takes off vertically and transitions to wing-borne cruise, with Anduril saying Thunder is built to cruise above 200 knots and range thousands of nautical miles as an autonomous 'loyal wingman' flying alongside crewed aircraft. First flight is targeted for 2027.