Archer Aviation has introduced Halo at the 2026 Farnborough International Airshow, a commercial variant of a jointly developed dual-use autonomous VTOL aircraft platform created in partnership with Anduril.
The announcement follows Anduril’s unveiling of the defense variant, named Thunder, at the Farnborough International Airshow. Both variants share a clean-sheet airframe, core systems, and a series hybrid-electric powertrain designed to optimize power across all flight conditions. Featuring dual tiltrotors that vary rotor RPM, the aircraft maintains high efficiency in cruise while minimizing noise for operations in noise-sensitive environments.
The platform relies on eight years of electric vertical takeoff and landing development by Archer, incorporating rapid innovation in electric propulsion and rotor design into a performance-optimized configuration. Built for long-range self-deployment, the aircraft can also be packed into standard shipping containers for transport by air, road, rail, or sea. It is engineered for low-cost, high-volume production using commercial supply chains to support rapid scaling across commercial and defense markets.
The autonomous aircraft combines heavy payload capacity in a modular bay with high speeds and runway-free takeoff and landing, lowering operational costs and eliminating human risk in hazardous environments. These capabilities target commercial logistics applications including offshore energy platform resupply, time-sensitive freight movement, maritime operations, and emergency humanitarian or medical cargo delivery.
To support market entry, Archer has partnered with Marubeni Aerospace Corporation, a subsidiary of major Japanese trading firm Marubeni Corporation, as a strategic launch partner. The collaboration will focus on joint market research, use case identification, and the future introduction of Halo into service. Marubeni Aerospace brings long-standing specialized experience representing major international aircraft and helicopter manufacturers.
Adam Goldstein, Founder and CEO of Archer, said, “Over the past eight years we’ve engineered, tested and scaled the technology this platform is built on. The powertrain, the batteries, the motors, the manufacturing. We partnered with Anduril to take all of that knowledge and build something new: a clean-sheet aircraft in a completely different class of range, speed and payload. I believe this is the most sophisticated vertical lift aircraft platform ever developed—it’s exactly what our customers need.”
Satoru Nakagawa, President and CEO, Marubeni Aerospace Corporation, added, “Currently, even in cargo transport operations that do not require onboard crew, flights are conducted with human pilots, absorbing the cost, scheduling constraints and human exposure that come with it. Halo’s unmanned, autonomous flight capabilities can address these challenges, and combined with its excellent range, payload capacity and VTOL capability, make it a highly suitable solution that we are pleased to introduce and support for our customers as a first strategic partner.”
