Archer Aviation (ACHR -8.18%) stock is surging in Friday's trading. The electric flying taxi company's share price was up 9.3% as of 10 a.m. ET and had been up as much as 17% at the beginning of the session.
Archer Aviation stock is making big gains today following an interview that CEO Adam Goldstein had with Fox Business yesterday. The stock is also getting a boost from news about the company's plans to create vehicles for the defense industry through a partnership with Anduril.
Archer is gearing up for takeoff
In an interview with Fox Business yesterday, CEO Adam Goldstein said that Archer expects to begin commercial flight operations for its Midnight flying vehicles next year. While the vehicles have already completed multiple successful test flights, the company still needs to receive regulatory approval from relevant aviation authorities in the markets that it aims to operate in.
Archer has said that it has received $6 billion worth of orders for its Midnight vehicles, which represents a very healthy level of demand for a debut entry in an emerging product category. Goldstein's comments suggest that the company expects to receive regulatory approval to begin operating in at least one of the markets that it has targeted, which would allow the business to make the jump from being pre-revenue to actually posting sales. Revenue could ramp up rapidly after that happens.
The defense industry presents another big opportunity for Archer investors
Archer also announced yesterday that it will be entering the defense industry through a partnership with Anduril -- a U.S. defense technology company that was founded by Palmer Luckey, the creator of the Oculus Rift virtual reality platform. Archer says that it has secured $430 million in funding to support its move into the defense industry.
The flying taxi specialist's defense industry push looks like great news for investors. While winning government contracts is no easy task, the new strategic avenue presents another substantial bullish catalyst for Archer Aviation stock. Anduril is still a relatively small company, but it's already won some deals with the U.S. defense industry, and its focus on innovative, forward-thinking defense applications could eventually yield great results. In conjunction with Goldstein's comments that commercial flights are expected to begin next year, it's fair to say that the last day has yielded great news for Archer Aviation investors.
