Archer Aviation is one of several companies developing flying taxis (try not to think about what that would look like in South Africa). One indication of how well the outfit’s tech is doing is that it’s now destined for military applications.
The eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) maker has announced that it has entered into a partnership with Anduril Industries — the folks who make the US military’s coolest battlefield helmet — and Edge. The deal sees “its proprietary, dual use advanced powertrain technology, currently in use on its Midnight eVTOL aircraft” being used for something a touch more… dynamic.
Archer: “Phrasing.”
Said ‘dynamic’ aircraft is the Omen Autonomous Air Vehicle, a collaboration between Anduril and a UAWE-based company called Edge Group. Archer’s eVTOL engine will climb inside at least 50 of these Omen aircraft, to be turned loose in the UAE and “creating an established demand signal for the Omen system and Archer’s powertrain technology.”
Exactly what the UAE intends to use its newly-fitted Omen aircraft for isn’t really explained, but Edge Group’s areas of expertise are: “Platforms & Systems, Missiles & Weapons, Space & Cyber Technologies, Technology & Innovation, and Homeland Security.” It’s possible that the fifty electric vertical takeoff aircraft could be pressed into service as flying taxis for folks with too much money. That won’t happen, but it’s possible.
Instead, the Archer-laden Omen craft are “hover-to-cruise Autonomous Air Vehicle[s] (AAV) that [deliver] long-range, heavy-payload, multi-mission capabilities in austere and communication-degraded or -denied environments.” So… about what you’d expect from the folks who also make the Saber long-range missile.
