Photo courtesy of Archer Aviation.
A new deal between defense technology company Anduril Industries and aviation innovation company Archer Aviation could lead to greener military aircraft. This represents a step in the right direction for an industry that is one of the planet’s biggest polluters.
A recent press release announced that Anduril and Archer have partnered to develop a hybrid vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft for defense purposes.
“With Archer’s ability to rapidly develop advanced VTOL aircraft using existing commercial parts and supply chains, and Anduril’s deep expertise in artificial intelligence, missionization and systems integration, this partnership will enable us to develop critical hybrid VTOL aircraft. “Features will be faster to market and cost a fraction of the cost of more traditional alternatives,” the press release reads.
Archer also announced that it has secured $430 million in additional capital for the project from a number of investors, including United Airlines and car manufacturer Stellantis.
While the news release centered around the idea that the partnership would “enhance our ability to meet urgent national security needs,” there’s much more to it than that. If successful, the project could reduce the U.S. military’s environmental impact by reducing carbon emissions and fuel consumption.
According to the Watson Institute for International Public Affairs, the Department of Defense is the world’s largest consumer of oil agencies and producer of greenhouse gases. Switching to electric VTOL aircraft could significantly reduce its consumption.
Electric vehicles offer a much greener alternative to gasoline-powered vehicles, both for the U.S. military and for average Americans. They require less maintenance, use fewer resources, and pollute less. This includes completely zero tailpipe emissions for electric vehicles. Not only that, but they are also much quieter than petrol cars, which reduces noise pollution.
It is important to point out that the word “low” is frequently used when describing the environmental impact of EVs. Critics often point to the resources and energy that EVs actually require as a way to minimize their positive attributes. However, while it is true that EVs require resource extraction for batteries and cause some pollution, the impact pales in comparison to gasoline cars.
The International Energy Agency estimates that the transition to clean energy will require mining around 30 million tons of minerals for EV batteries by 2040. Currently, approximately 16.5 billion tons of fossil fuels are extracted each year. The difference is almost too great to understand.
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EV batteries create waste when mining materials and pollution when charging the batteries using electricity generated from dirty fuel sources. However, both the waste and pollution produced are dwarfed by what gas-powered cars emit.
In other words, it’s not that EVs are a perfect replacement, just that they’re much better.
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