$126M Cash Purchase Supports Air-Taxi Network and AI-Driven Operations

Archer Aviation has inked a deal for control of Hawthorne Municipal Airport (HHR), also known as Jack Northrop Field, in Los Angeles for $126 million in cash. This marks a major shift in its strategy to build a localized urban air-mobility network and test next-gen aviation tech.

“The era of advanced aviation has arrived—not as a distant vision, but as a tangible reality,” said Adam Goldstein, Archer’s founder and CEO. “At Archer, we are not waiting for the future; we are building it. The time to seize this transformative opportunity is now.”

The 80-acre facility offers roughly 190,000 square feet of terminal, hangar, and office space in a dense urban setting. It is located less than three miles from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), with venues like SoFi Stadium and the Intuit Dome nearby. This will serve as Archer’s planned operational hub for its LA air-taxi service and as a testbed for AI-powered ground and air-traffic technologies.

Another recent Archer Acquisition, of Lilium’s patent portfolio, was finalized just before the announcement of the airport deal. The nearly 300 assets turned over expand Archer’s intellectual-property holdings to over 1,000 patents globally.

Alongside the acquisitions, Archer announced that it raised $650 million in additional equity, bringing its total liquidity to more than $2 billion… though its Q3 2025 net loss still stood at approximately $129.9 million, with operating expenses of $174.8 million. The firm also highlighted recent flight-test milestones for its eVTOL, Midnight, which recently exceeded a 50-mile range and reached altitudes above 10,000 feet.

Archer is tapping the Hawthorne hub for more than just passenger operations. It will be used as a proof platform for “AI-enabled operations”, including autonomous or semi-autonomous ground handling, optimized arrival sequencing in congested airspace, and direct integration with airline partners such as United Airlines.

The timeline is ambitious. Archer is targeting operations linked to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, using Hawthorne as the base for its L.A. air-taxi network. The company remains in the development phase, with commercial passenger operations yet to begin, and the added complexity of airport operations may push back the schedule.

FMI: www.archer.com