Archer and Anduril are "deep in the work" on secretive VTOL aircraft

What they're saying: "I think the U.S. and its allies have an increasing demand for autonomous and attritable assets, especially big flying things," Goldstein said in an interview on the sidelines of the Reindustrialize conference in Detroit.

• "The need is very near-term for this stuff. The question is: How much of it can you build?"

Catch up quick: The companies announced their exclusive partnership in December. At the time, Goldstein told Axios: "You can imagine things that helicopters do are the things that we're building toward."

Flashback: Archer most recently raised $850 million. It disclosed the funding ahead of the Paris Air Show, where it displayed its Midnight aircraft.

• Archer last summer delivered a Midnight aircraft to the U.S. Air Force for evaluation under the Agility Prime program.

Go deeper: Archer to provide electric air taxi service during 2028 L.A. Olympics