Archer $ACHR closes 19.59% higher after Anduril Thunder VTOL reveal

Archer Aviation $ACHR closed up 19.59% at $5.31 on July 20 after the company and Anduril unveiled Thunder, a Group 5 autonomous attack rotorcraft, according to market data carried by Yahoo Finance. The stock move cleared the 8% single-name threshold and had a named catalyst rather than a technical or meme-stock setup.

The primary source is Archer's July 20 investor release. It says Anduril and Archer unveiled a jointly developed series hybrid-electric VTOL platform for commercial and defense applications. Anduril showed Thunder at Farnborough as the defense variant, designed to multiply the combat power of current and next-generation crewed attack and assault aircraft.

The release gives the market a clearer defense path for Archer beyond the civil air-taxi timeline. Archer says the platform combines vertical takeoff and landing with wingborne cruise and runway-independent operations. It also says the dual-use aircraft uses a series hybrid-electric powertrain, dual tiltrotors, modular heavy payload capacity, and technology developed from years of Archer flight testing.

The next data point is commercial validation. Archer said it plans to announce the first commercial customers for the platform later this week. For investors, that separates the July 20 move from a concept-only reveal: the stock reaction now depends on whether named customers, contract structure, funding needs, or production milestones add numbers to the defense-and-commercial story.

The risk is that the release did not disclose order value, production volume, delivery dates, or revenue guidance for Thunder. That keeps the article in the single-stock move category, not the M&A or contract-value category. The catalyst is verified, but the financial scale still needs future filings, customer announcements, or company guidance.

Not investment advice. Verify all figures with primary sources before acting.