Archer Unveils Halo, Commercial Variant of Dual-Use Autonomous VTOL
Archer Aviation has announced Halo, the commercial variant of a jointly-developed dual-use platform built to serve both defense and commercial applications. Anduril unveiled Thunder, the defense variant of the platform, on Monday at the Farnborough International Airshow. The two variants share the same airframe, hybrid powertrain and core systems, with configurable payload depending on mission requirements.
This new dual-use autonomous VTOL aircraft platform, highlighted by its Halo (commercial) and Thunder (defense) variants, builds on eight years of eVTOL development and flight testing by Archer. It features a clean-sheet design, bringing the commercial VTOL sector’s rapid innovation in electric propulsion and rotor design directly into a performance-optimized configuration.
Highlighting this demand, Archer announced Marubeni Aerospace Corporation as a strategic launch partner for Halo.
Marubeni Aerospace is engaged in business development in the aviation and space fields. It is a subsidiary of the aerospace and mobility arm of Marubeni Corporation, one of Japan’s largest general trading companies. It has long-standing experience as a specialized trading company in the aviation sector, representing major international aircraft and helicopter manufacturers. The partnership will focus on joint market research, use case identification and future introduction of Halo.
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