Archer Aviation has announced two strategic acquisitions aimed at advancing its next-generation defence aircraft development.

These moves follow the company’s December 2024 announcement regarding a strategic partnership with Anduril to co-develop hybrid, autonomous vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) military aircraft.

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This partnership was supported by the successful raising of $1.3bn in capital to explore both defence and commercial avenues.

The demand for Archer’s offerings has increased, particularly from major allied defence programmes globally, according to the company

To address this demand, Archer has acquired a patent portfolio and recruited essential personnel from Overair, a company that originated from Karem Aircraft.

Karem Aircraft developed and produced advanced fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft, particularly those utilising “high-efficiency” tiltrotor technology.

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Archer has also obtained critical composite manufacturing assets and a manufacturing facility spanning approximately 60,000ft² from Mission Critical Composites, a defence composite manufacturer based in Southern California.

This acquisition enables Archer to establish in-house composite fabrication capabilities, which will support its defence programme requirements for rapid prototyping and iterative development.

These acquisitions align with an industry trend, highlighted by the Pentagon’s recent budget request of $13.4bn for autonomous military systems.

Archer founder and CEO Adam Goldstein said: “The Administration has made it clear: Leading in advanced aviation in both commercial and defence is a national priority. These acquisitions are part of our commitment—we’re working to accelerate our product development to meet our country’s needs.”

In June this year, Archer Aviation secured $850m in funding, following an Executive Order from President Trump to expedite the deployment of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in the US.

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