Omen: Anduril, Archer, and EDGE Make Tailsitter Drone Production-Ready

With Omen, the US company Anduril Industries has brought a so-called tailsitter to series production for the first time. The unmanned, autonomous aircraft can take off vertically, transition to fast forward flight, and land upright on its tail at the end of its mission. During the transition from horizontal to vertical flight, Omen tilts back in a controlled manner and precisely aligns itself for landing using its sensors and flight control systems.

For Omen, Anduril Industries, specializing in defense and autonomous technologies, is cooperating with Archer Aviation and Edge Group, a technology and defense conglomerate from the United Arab Emirates. Anduril was founded by Oculus creator Palmer Luckey investors include players like Peter Thiel.

Archer, known for its electrically powered air taxi Midnight, specializes in electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Its proven electric propulsion and battery technology have been adopted for Omen to increase range, performance, and reliability. Additionally, Archer has partnered with Korean Air to advance "Advanced Air Mobility (AAM)" in Asia.

Archer founder Adam Goldstein states: "This opens up new markets for us – as a supplier for the next generation of electric aircraft." Anduril provides Omen's autonomous control and system integration for this purpose.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) developed new algorithms in 2023 that enable tailsitter drones to perform complex flight maneuvers in real-time – such as inverted flight and rapid changes in direction. This research laid the foundation for the precise control and stabilization of such aircraft, which was long considered particularly difficult. This makes the precise regulation of vertical takeoff and transition to forward flight comprehensively manageable for the first time.

Lawsuit over Allegedly Stolen Trade Secrets

While Archer Aviation celebrates Omen with its partners, competitor Joby Aviation is suing the company for alleged theft of trade secrets. Reuters reports on this, among others. Joby accuses Archer of obtaining confidential information through a former employee. Archer strongly denies the allegations.

(mack)