Air taxi maker Archer signs $142M eVTOL deal with US Air Force

Archer, California developer of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, has announced a contract with the US Air Force worth up to $142 million, and opening the door to deployment of its Midnight air taxi plane for operation adapted to military activities.

Santa Clara-based Archer said it had signed the agreement to supply up to six of its Midnight eVTOL craft to the US Air Force once continued testing and other work toward certification allows. Awaiting that time, the startup will provide military partners with related development data on the craft, and work with them on pilot training, maintenance, and repair systems.

Read: Reinforced Archer and Stellantis ties aim for 2024 Midnight air taxi production launch

It’s unknown what the details and costs of all such additional aspects of the deal are. Yet even rolling those revealed into the overall per-vehicle price estimation yields a $23.6 million figure for each Midnight…