Archer Aviation NYSE:ACHR shares rose about 2% Thursday after the company introduced Halo, its commercial autonomous vertical takeoff and landing aircraft platform developed with defense technology company Anduril, at the Farnborough International Airshow.
Halo is the commercial version of the platform that shares its airframe, hybrid-electric propulsion system and core technologies with Thunder, the military variant unveiled by Anduril earlier this week. The two aircraft are designed for different commercial and defense missions through separate payload configurations.
Archer said Halo combines a hybrid-electric powertrain with dual tiltrotors to improve efficiency across different phases of flight while lowering noise during takeoff and landing. The autonomous aircraft is designed for long-range cargo operations, heavy payload transport and deployment without a pilot. It can also be shipped in a standard container to support flexible deployment.
Archer said Halo is intended for uses including offshore energy logistics, freight transport, humanitarian relief, medical cargo delivery and maritime operations. The company also named Marubeni Aerospace Corporation, part of Japan's Marubeni Corporation, as Halo's first strategic launch partner. The companies plan to collaborate on market assessments, commercial applications and evaluating future deployment opportunities for the aircraft.