Charles Alcock is managing editor of the AIN Media Group, having rejoined the company in 2019. He has been an aviation journalist since 1986, and previously worked for AIN from 1990 to 2017, most recently as editor-in-chief. His main focus is on covering new aviation technology and business models, as well as international news.
Having been raised in the London area, Alcock studied at the University of Manchester in the UK and earned an honors degree in Politics and Modern History. He speaks English and French, and some German.

Managing Editor

Charles Alcock

Read the latest news about Archer Aviation. 

Archer Aviation and autonomous system specialist Anduril rolled out their plans for a family of hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft on Monday. On the opening morning of the Farnborough International Airshow, the U.S. partners unveiled a mockup of a Group 5 model called Thunder, which they described as an autonomous attack rotorcraft.
The program joins similar initiatives from other eVTOL aircraft developers chasing the spike in defense spending on autonomous platforms to supplement piloted warplanes. These include rivals Joby Aviation, Vertical Aerospace, and Beta Technologies, which is exhibiting the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/futureflight/2026-07-18/beta-brings-electric-airplane-farnborough-flying-display">MV250</a> hybrid-electric autonomous derivative of its CX300 electric aircraft.
Other versions of the tiltrotor VTOL design are expected to be offered for commercial applications, with Archer expected to announce launch customers later this week for a model called Halo. According to the company, Thunder and the other variants are “designed for the operations that need to move heavy payloads over long distances, into places without a runway, at a lower cost than traditional platforms.”
Anduril (which is leading the defense missionization work) and Archer say they can deliver a new class of vertical-lift autonomous aircraft. However, they declined to detail anticipated speed, range, and payload specifications on the basis that they are actively competing for military contracts.
The partners expect to begin test flights of the Thunder prototype in 2027, but have not said when they will begin deliveries. The companies said they have already flown what they described as “a full-scale surrogate aircraft.”
Based on the powertrain Archer developed for its four-passenger Midnight eVTOL air taxi, the series’ hybrid-electric powertrain drives the rotors directly from electric motors and features a turbogenerator. The propulsion system also includes wing-mounted optimum-speed tiltrotors that vary the revolutions per minute to maintain efficiency through different phases of flight, reducing power demand and fuel burn in cruise as well as reducing noise to avoid detection by hostile forces during low-altitude approaches.
In the UK, Vertical is working on a hybrid-electric adaptation of its six-seater Valo eVTOL that it aims to start flying in 2027. The <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/futureflight/2026-05-19/vertical-starts-tests-hybrid-electric-powertrain">aircraft</a>, which could be piloted or autonomous, is expected to have a payload of 1,100 kilograms (2,420 pounds) and a range of 870 nm.

News and issues relating to civil and military unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) of all kinds and sizes, including those used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), combat (unmanned combat air vehicles, or UCAVs), law enforcement, research and other applications. Of particular focus is the FAA's planned integration of UAS into the U.S. national airspace system.

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News and issues regarding all manner of civil and military rotorcraft and their powerplants, including helicopters, tilt rotors and unmanned air vehicles.

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