archer aviation CEO Adam Goldstein said the company is committed to getting its air taxis certified and flying in time for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
“This has always been an ambitious goal,” he told CNBC’s Phil LeBeau at Britain’s Farnborough Air Show on Monday. “It’s still an ambitious goal, but we’re going to do everything we can to get there.”
Archer on Monday unveiled Thunder, an autonomous vertical takeoff and landing defense aircraft powered by Anduril, designed to accompany manned aircraft and helicopters. The two companies first collaborated in 2024.
The stock price rose more than 20%.
Anduril’s Thunder GTM.
Provided by: Anduril
Archer is widely known for developing electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft aimed at reducing emissions and traffic in crowded urban areas. However, the technology faces a series of regulatory and infrastructure hurdles that have delayed certification timelines.
In recent months, Archer and his friends have benefited from President Donald Trump’s latest eVTOL pilot program aimed at speeding up deployment, with testing underway in 26 states.
“This is critical to gaining public confidence and regulatory confidence that ultimately leads to certification,” Goldstein told CNBC. “That step is going to be critical to meeting that schedule.”
As the U.S. military invests in new technologies on the battlefield and adds artificial intelligence tools, Archer and its peers are also steadily expanding their defense portfolios.
With geopolitical tensions rising overseas, Goldstein said defense applications are a “huge market” for Archer. The aircraft also does not require the certification process required for commercial use, he added.
“The applications we can bring to the defense world are very impressive and very needed for warfighters,” he said.
Archer Aviation stock price chart.
