ARCHER

ARCHER is a modular, attritable first-person-view (FPV) quadcopter developed by Neros of the United States, built in 5, 8 and 10-inch frame sizes for reconnaissance and, in its armed "Archer Strike" configuration, precision strike. The US Marine Corps publicly demonstrated the type at Quantico and Twentynine Palms in March 2025, and it has since been selected by the US Army for the Purpose-Built Attritable Systems (PBAS) programme.

Overview

Neros built the original 8-inch Archer for Ukrainian forces, and the company says roughly two-thirds of its monthly output continued to go to Ukraine as of mid-2025, including a six-month, 6,000-drone order placed by the International Drone Coalition. Shephard Media reported in July 2026 that the US Marine Corps' Training and Education Command was moving to make the Archer its primary FPV drone for service-wide training and general use, quoting Col Charles Anklam III, commanding officer of the Weapons Training Battalion, as saying "Neros' Archer is what we are currently looking at for service-wide use and training at this point in time." In November 2025 Neros announced it had been selected as a vendor for the US Army's Purpose-Built Attritable Systems programme, supplying Archer and Archer Strike drones alongside its Crossbow and soldier-portable Flatbow ground-control systems. TWZ reported in December 2025 that the Marine Corps had separately posted a request for information seeking up to 10,000 FPV drones costing under $4,000 each, with an initial tranche due by January 2027, without naming the eventual winning vendor.

Neros has said development and testing of the Archer family involved more than two years of work with Ukrainian and US military partners. The company has reported monthly Archer production in the thousands of units from its Southern California facility and raised a $250 million Series C round in August 2026 at a reported $2.5 billion valuation to expand manufacturing capacity further.

Design and capabilities

Archer is offered in three frame sizes: a 5-inch version built for close-quarters work with optional propeller guards for indoor use, the original 8-inch design that Neros calls "battle-tested," and a 10-inch version for the longest range and heaviest payloads. Neros states that the aircraft carries a 2 kg (4.5 lb) payload over 20 km, a figure Janes has reported directly from a Neros press release and which Defense News corroborated for the 8-inch model, giving a range of over 12 miles with the same payload. Neros has not published the aircraft's take-off weight, flight time or top speed for any frame size.

The company's APEX payload adapter lets operators swap warheads, repeaters, fibre-optic spools or direction-finding equipment in the field, and field-swappable sensor modules include thermal, illuminator and downward-facing cameras. Neros's proprietary dual-band, frequency-hopping radios are rated for links of 25 km or more in jammed environments, paired with the Crossbow ground-control station (and the soldier-portable Flatbow variant for the US Army). The armed Archer Strike configuration integrates Kraken Kinetics' Terminus warhead for anti-armour and anti-personnel use, and an optional Archer AI autonomy package adds terminal guidance to a selected target and GPS-denied position hold, with an operator kept in the loop for the engagement decision.

Operational history

Archer drones have been supplied to Ukrainian forces since 2023, and Neros has said the type remains in large-scale production for that market. In the United States, the Marine Corps has used Archer in training at Quantico, Twentynine Palms and Camp Gonsalves in Japan, and TWZ reported a $17 million Marine Corps contract in November 2025 for roughly 8,000 drones including kinetic-strike-capable variants. The US Army selected Neros as an Archer vendor for its PBAS programme in November 2025, and Defense News reported a further Army contract worth up to $500 million for Archer drones under the same programme in July 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What is the range of the Neros Archer?

Neros states a range of up to 20 km (about 12.4 miles) carrying a 2 kg payload; its radios are separately rated for links of 25 km or more in jamming environments.

What is Archer Strike?

The armed configuration of Archer, which integrates Kraken Kinetics' Terminus anti-armour and anti-personnel warhead for engaging targets at ranges beyond 20 km.

Who operates the Archer?

Ukrainian forces, the US Marine Corps and the US Army, the latter two under training programmes and the Purpose-Built Attritable Systems programme.

How much does an Archer drone cost?

Neros has not published a unit price; a separate 2025 Marine Corps request for FPV drones generally sought aircraft costing under $4,000 each, not specific to Archer.

What sizes does the Archer come in?

Three frame sizes: 5-inch (close-quarters, optional prop guards), 8-inch (the original, "battle-tested" design) and 10-inch (longest range and heaviest payload).