# Electric air taxis go to war

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/electric-air-taxis-go-to-war/
- Published: 2026-07-20T13:52:21+00:00
- Updated: 2026-07-20T21:19:04+00:00
- Original publisher: The Verge
- Original article: https://www.theverge.com/transportation/967891/archer-evtol-military-anduril-air-taxi-thunder
- Topics: Art, Business, Celebrity, Companies, Culture, Entertainment

## Key points

- Archer and Anduril unveiled Thunder, a military-capable hybrid eVTOL aircraft
- Revealed at the Farnborough Airshow; commercial version coming this week
- Air taxi firms are turning to defence deals to offset huge financial losses

## Summary

Archer Aviation, a San Jose-based air taxi startup, has unveiled Thunder, a hybrid vertical takeoff and landing aircraft co-developed with Palmer Luckey's defence firm Anduril, designed for both military and commercial use. The reveal, made at the Farnborough International Airshow in Hampshire, marks a significant pivot for electric aviation firms, which are increasingly looking to defence contracts to offset heavy losses while awaiting the regulatory approvals needed to launch passenger services.

Thunder resembles a cross between Archer's Midnight air taxi and larger military aircraft such as the V-22 Osprey, but uses a series hybrid powertrain rather than a fully electric one, giving it greater range for military strikes, cargo transport and logistics in remote areas. It is intended as a fully autonomous attack rotorcraft flying alongside crewed military aircraft, with a commercial variant due to be unveiled later this week. The partnership builds on an existing deal in which Archer licenses its eVTOL technology to Anduril's Omen drone programme; Archer has also supplied a Midnight aircraft to the US Air Force for evaluation, as the company reported a $217.7 million first-quarter loss against just $1.6 million in revenue.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.