Archer Aviation’s stock has fallen roughly 50% this year, but the company has continued advancing its Midnight electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft and broadening its business beyond passenger air taxis.
In April, Archer became the first eVTOL developer to complete Phase 3 of the Federal Aviation Administration’s four-phase type-certification process for its aircraft. The company has since continued formal testing and analysis required in Phase 4. Archer also reported more than 70 Midnight test flights in August and completed a piloted round trip between Salinas and Hollister, California, on Sept. Each flight took about 12 minutes, compared with roughly 40 minutes by car.
The aircraft has not yet generated commercial passenger revenue.
Archer is seeking to add revenue and technology through a proposed acquisition of Boeing’s Wisk Aero, SkyGrid and Insitu subsidiaries. The agreement, signed in August, would give Archer Wisk’s autonomous-aircraft business, SkyGrid’s airspace-management technology and Insitu’s unmanned-aircraft operations. Insitu contributes a defense business that Archer says generates more than $200 million in annual revenue and operates in 35 countries.
The transaction would also change Archer’s ownership structure.
The proposed deal could give Archer a substantial operating business before Midnight receives certification, while also adding expenses, integration demands and dilution for existing shareholders. Archer’s certification work, planned initial operations under the federal eVTOL Integration Pilot Program and the Boeing transaction now form the central tests of whether its expansion can produce commercial results before its air-taxi business is fully approved.