Archer, Wisk swap legal war for air taxi automated flight tech partnership

Air taxi manufacturer Archer Aviation has announced a trio of developments that, even taken individually, represent huge news for the company – the biggest among them being the abrupt transformation of its bitter legal battle with sector rival Wisk into an autonomous flight tech sharing partnership.

In a single, understandably long communiqué Archer issued late Thursday, the company said it had agreed with advanced air mobility (AAM) competitor Wisk to forego what was expected to be an ugly courtroom showdown in their dispute. Instead, the pair will work together on their otherwise competing bids to launch air taxi services within the next couple of years.

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

That accord calls for Archer to become a client, integrating Wisk’s self-flight tech into its Midnight aircraft – an agreement it says makes it “able to source autonomy technology from a leader in the…