Manufacturing facility set for completion in the coming weeks, focus going into 2025 is on building piloted, type-design aircraft for use in testing and early commercial deployment
Nearing completion of Phase 3 of the FAA’s type certification process while continuing to rapidly advance Phase 4, the final phase to secure type certification
Established a consortium led by the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) to launch commercial air taxi services in the UAE as early as Q4’25
Commenting on third quarter 2024 results, Adam Goldstein, Archer’s founder and CEO said: “Over the past six years, we have established the foundation to allow Archer to seamlessly transition from concept to commercialization. As we enter the final stretch of bringing Midnight to market, our strategy is paying off in the form of strong certification progress, the eVTOL industry's most mature scalable manufacturing facility in the U.S. and launch plans that are solidifying in the U.S and abroad. We believe we are in the strongest position in the industry to lead the transition to commercialization."
Third Quarter Highlights
Building Production Aircraft
With its high-volume manufacturing facility set for completion in the coming weeks, Archer’s focus going into 2025 is on building piloted, type-design aircraft for use in testing and early commercial deployment. Archer plans to load in manufacturing equipment over the coming months so that production can begin at this facility in early 2025 with the goal to ramp to a rate of two aircraft per month by the end of the year. This facility was completed on time and on budget—in just over 18 months at a cost of ~$65M.
Certification Momentum
Since the FAA finalized Midnight’s airworthiness criteria in May, Archer is now nearing completion of Phase 3 of the FAA’s 4-phase type certification process while continuing to rapidly advance through Phase 4, the final phase to secure type certification.
Additionally, the FAA has now released the powered-lift Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR), putting the key piece of the regulatory puzzle in place to allow Archer and the rest of the industry to firm up plans for safely commercializing eVTOL in the U.S. The SFAR incorporates feedback from across the industry and aligns strongly with Archer’s commercial operations plans and Midnight’s capabilities.
Commercial Launch Progress
United Arab Emirates. This quarter, Archer established a consortium led by the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) to launch commercial air taxi services in the UAE as early as Q4 2025. Through this consortium, Archer has made significant progress in establishing the regulatory pathway, infrastructure and flight operations plans necessary to enable market entry.
Japan. In September, Archer entered into an agreement with Japan Airlines and Sumitomo Corporation’s joint venture, Soracle, that includes a planned purchase of up to $500M of aircraft with the goal of bringing air taxi services to some of the most congested cities in Japan. This agreement includes pre-delivery payments based on certain milestones in advance of aircraft delivery. Archer and Soracle will work closely with the Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau to obtain the necessary permissions and certifications. With this planned purchase, Archer’s indicative order book is now $6B+.*
Liquidity Position
Archer completed the quarter with over $500M of cash and cash equivalents—a position as strong as it has been over the last 18 months. Furthermore, quarterly spend in Q3 2024 remained nearly flat as compared to the prior quarter. Lastly, earlier this week Archer announced that it is now seeking shareholder approval for up to ~$400M of additional capital from Stellantis to help scale the manufacturing of its Midnight aircraft.**
*Orders under the order book remain conditional, subject to the execution of further definitive agreements with each customer and the satisfaction of certain conditions. Order values represent the Company’s estimate based on an indicative $5M per aircraft price. This is only a prediction and actual results may differ materially due to a variety of factors.
**The key terms of the contract manufacturing relationship with Stellantis are based on a memorandum of understanding that contemplates the parties to enter into future definitive agreements related thereto.
