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Archer Aviation gets another big order for its futuristic air taxis

Archer eyes Japan for an air taxi service.

The company will sell 100 of its Midnight battery-powered aircraft to Soracle, a joint venture between Japan Airlines and Sumitomo Corporation, in a deal valued approximately at $500 million. Archer says that Soracle plans on deploying its aircraft — which look like a cross between a drone and a helicopter — “in cities where existing ground transportation is constrained by traffic or geographic barriers,” the company said. Air taxis, sometimes misidentified by the mainstream media as “flying cars,” are essentially helicopters without the noisy, polluting gas motors (though they certainly have their own unique noise profile).

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