Archer Aviation have sued British rivals Vertical Aerospace, claiming the company’s latest Valo eVTOL design infringes the patent for their Midnight air taxi.
The California-based company has been ramping up testing of Midnight as it plans for certification from the Federal Aviation Authority (AAM). A spokesperson for Archer argued:
After years of developing its VX4 aircraft, Vertical has abandoned that design and unveiled a new aircraft, Valo, which is a visual mimic of Archer’s Midnight aircraft’s award-winning industrial design.
They added that Vertical had ‘knowingly, willfully’ copied Archer’s designs, including flight control systems and methods for managing battery power and flight propulsion. Vertical have dismissed Archer’s lawsuit as ‘without merit’, asserting that the company are attempting to distract the media from wider problems associated with its eVTOL development programme.
In a statement, Vertical said:
Archer’s claims are merely an attempt to distract from Archer’s challenges competing in the marketplace. Vertical has developed a robust aircraft design with a clear path to certification, underpinned by Vertical’s proprietary and market-leading technology and international IP portfolio.
Archer and Vertical’s rivalry has grown more intense in recent years as both companies struggle to gain leverage in an increasingly competitive AAM market. In February this year, Archer announced they were establishing a new base in Bristol, UK, the city where Vertical are headquartered. Meanwhile, Vertical challenged Archer and Joby, another competitor in the space, by announcing plans for a New York air taxi network. Neither company is certified in the US, UK, or abroad as both try to prove eVTOL networks can be safe and efficient modes of transport.
Join us at Aerospace Tech Week 2026 to discuss the future of advanced air mobility (AAM).
For more like this, see: