Archer Aviation

eVTOL · Aerospace · Defense Tech

Launch

Archer Aviation unveils Halo, an autonomous VTOL cargo aircraft with Anduril

The design splits one shared airframe into a defense drone and a civilian cargo hauler, hedging bets across two markets at once.

• Archer Aviation unveiled Halo, an autonomous hybrid-electric VTOL cargo aircraft developed with Anduril Industries, at the Farnborough International Airshow.
• Archer, best known for its Midnight passenger eVTOL air taxi, is using Halo to push beyond urban air mobility into autonomous cargo and logistics.
• Halo runs on a series hybrid-electric powertrain with dual tiltrotors that vary rotor speed by flight phase, improving cruise efficiency and cutting noise near populated or sensitive areas.
• The aircraft is aimed at freight, offshore energy support, humanitarian supply and maritime missions via a modular payload bay, but Archer has not disclosed specs, pricing or a service timeline.
• Japan's Marubeni Aerospace signed on as Halo's first strategic launch partner to study missions and deployment across Japan and other markets.
• Halo shares its airframe, powertrain and core systems with Thunder, a military attack variant Anduril revealed a day earlier, with Anduril handling mission systems and defense payloads.
• By building one dual-use platform for both defense and civil logistics, Archer and Anduril are betting that faster military certification can help mature the technology before it scales into slower-moving commercial markets.