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U.S. Air Force Set To Evaluate Archer's Midnight eVTOL Aircraft
Archer has been awarded a Small Business Innovative Research Phase III contract, extending its partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense.
The U.S. Air Force will evaluate Archer's Midnight eVTOL aircraft.
Under a new contract, the U.S. Air Force will evaluate Archer's Midnight eVTOL aircraft as part of its Afwerx Agility Prime programs. (Image: Archer)

The U.S. Air Force (USAF) is to receive up to six of Archer Aviation’s Midnight eVTOL aircraft under the terms of new contracts the manufacturer said are worth up to $142 million. The agreement, announced on July 31, builds on a partnership between the Department of Defense (DoD) and the California-based company that since 2021 has covered a series of projects intended to assess military use cases for the vehicle Archer intends to bring to market in 2025.

The Small Business Innovative Research Phase III contract follows earlier Phase I and II contracts that Archer was awarded to support the USAF’s Afwerx Agility Prime programs. For fiscal year 2023, Afwerx is committed to spending just under $1.3 million for research, development, test, and evaluation work that will be conducted in San Jose, California.