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Archer Aviation Inc. (NYSE:ACHR) announced on Thursday that the company delivered its first Midnight aircraft to the United States Air Force to evaluate as part of its AFWERX Agility Prime contract valued at up to $142 million.
The delivery comes after the U.S. Department of Defense accepted Midnight’s military airworthiness assessment, which was noted to be a critical approval that confirms Midnight’s readiness for flight testing by AFWERX. The next step is for AFWERX to conduct government-directed testing of the aircraft for the U.S. Air Force and validate operational and military-specific mission concepts. Notably, a team of USAF personnel worked alongside Archer’s (ACHR) flight test team to ramp up operations with Midnight at Salinas.
“This delivery represents a pivotal moment not only for Archer but for the future of military aviation,” highlighted Archer Aviation (ACHR) CEO Adam Goldstein. “Together, our goal is to prove Midnight’s potential and ensure the United States continues to lead the way with the world’s most advanced technology,” he added.
Why all the buzz? Archer’s (ACHR) Midnight aircraft is expected to provide a much safer, cost-effective and quieter alternative to existing internal combustion engine options. As such, it holds the promise of enhancing rapid response, agility and operational effectiveness across a wide range of mission profiles.
Shares of Archer Aviation (ACHR) were up 1.75% in premarket trading on Thursday.
