​The Catalyst: Archer Goes Defense​The catalyst that sent the company higher was the launch of an autonomous VTOL aircraft platform with a defense variant called Thunder, jointly developed with the defense company Anduril. This marks a real pivot from Archer’s original air-taxi pitch into dual-use defense revenue. According to Insider Monkey’s database, 44 hedge funds held positions in ACHR in Q3 2025. The ownership rose towards the end of 2025 to 51 hedge funds but dropped by around 25% in Q1 2026 to 38 hedge funds. In comparison, Joby Aviation, Inc (NYSE:JOBY) was held by 36 hedge funds in Q1 2026, up from 30 in the previous quarter, but down from 40 hedge fund positions in Q3 2025.