Flying taxi maker Archer Aviation’s stock pops on Anduril drone deal-awdailynews

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2025-11-18

Flying taxi maker Archer Aviation’s stock pops on Anduril drone deal

Shares of Archer Aviation (ACHR), the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) maker, jumped on Tuesday after the company inked a deal with defense AI firm Anduril (ANIN.PVT) to power its drones.

Archer Aviation stock climbed 2% in early trade on Tuesday.

Archer announced from the Dubai Air Show that it would supply Anduril — and its UAE-based partner EDGE Group — with Archer’s “dual-use electric powertrain technology.” The deal would accelerate the development and scaled production of Anduril’s Omen Autonomous Air Vehicle system.

Additionally, the UAE government said it would initially purchase 50 Omen drones as part of its commitment. Archer said its deal with Anduril and EDGE marks the first licensing agreement for its powertrain technology — and the company intends to pursue other third-party licensing deals in the future, unlocking more revenue streams.

“For almost a year, we have worked closely with Anduril’s team as we advance our hybrid-electric aircraft project,” Archer founder and CEO Adam Goldstein said in a statement. “As we’ve familiarized ourselves with each other’s technology, new and interesting opportunities to collaborate beyond the scope of the initial hybrid aircraft project have been uncovered.”

In addition to expanding the scope of its deal with Anduril, Goldstein said the company would pursue new partnerships to be the powertrain supplier for other makers of next-gen electric aircraft.

Anduril and EDGE Group's Omen drone, powered by an Archer Aviation electric powertrain. — Stock pop: Anduril and EDGE Group’s Omen drone, powered by an Archer Aviation electric powertrain. · Anduril

“We’ve been working on Omen for more than five years.” Anduril senior vice president of engineering Shane Arnott said. “By combining the Archer team’s expertise in powertrain technology with a little bit of Anduril magic, we’ve been able to mature our propulsion solution to achieve the ranges, speeds, and payload capacity we need to make Omen operationally relevant for a variety of dual-use mission sets.”

Archer’s main product, the Midnight electric flying taxi, can hold four passengers and perform several back-to-back short-haul trips with minimal charge time between flights. Archer believes Midnight can replace 60-to-90-minute commutes by car with 10-to-20-minute electric air taxi flights, which would eventually be cost-effective compared to traveling by car.

Tuesday’s deal with Anduril is the latest in a string of positive developments for Archer.

Last week, the company performed a Midnight test flight in the UAE, with the aim of making Abu Dhabi the first region to commercially operate its aircraft.