What Archer First Response Systems does

Archer First Response Systems (AFRS) is a subsidiary of Archer Unmanned Air Systems, an Orlando, Florida-based company founded in 2013 by Gordon Folkes. AFRS provides a turnkey 911-integrated autonomous drone delivery system designed to deliver time-critical emergency medical equipment — including AEDs, NARCAN, tourniquets, EpiPens, epinephrine, and whole blood — directly to 911 callers within a 35-square-mile coverage area in under five minutes. The technology stack combines Freefly Systems AltaX unmanned aircraft equipped with ASTM-certified parachute recovery systems, a proprietary Ground Control Hub maintaining a homeostatic environment for the aircraft, AFRS 911 CAD Integration Software enabling sub-20-second deployment, and the proprietary Archer Survey AI platform that maps over 55,000 unobstructed delivery coordinates from satellite imagery.

The company's go-to-market combines direct enterprise sales to 911 emergency communications centers and EMS/fire-rescue agencies with channel partnerships through RapidDeploy (embedded in a SaaS platform serving 500+ public safety agencies) and RapidSOS Portal. Revenue mechanics include multi-year managed service contracts for full deployments, a $500/month Live Dispatch Trial program (credited toward deployment costs) as a low-friction entry product, and the Champion Hospital Partner Program, which enables hospitals such as Tampa General Hospital to sponsor local EMS agency deployments — creating a B2B2G funding and adoption pathway. The company's first operational deployment launched in April 2024 in Manatee County, Florida, in partnership with Tampa General Hospital and Manatee County Public Safety, with stated plans to expand coverage from 3.5 to 35 square miles.

Name

Archer First Response Systems

Legal name

Archer Unmanned Air Systems

Website

https://archerfrs.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Archer First Response Systems provides 911-integrated autonomous drone delivery of emergency medical equipment (AEDs, NARCAN, tourniquets, whole blood) to public safety answering points, EMS agencies, and fire-rescue departments, reaching 911 callers within a 35-square-mile area in under five minutes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Emergency Medical Drone Delivery Services

NAICS

Other Support Activities for Air Transportation (488190)

SIC

Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812)

akta.pro primary industry

Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) & Multirotor Drones (IMABAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

UAS Ground Control Stations (GCS) & Remote Operations Infrastructure (IMABAIAL)

Keywords

• Emergency drone delivery
• 911 dispatch integration
• Medical payload drones
• Autonomous UAS deployment
• Emergency response services

Headquarters

HQ city

Orlando

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Emergency Drone Delivery Service (Subscription/Managed Services): Fully managed drone delivery service where ArcherFRS handles infrastructure installation, maintenance, monitoring, and support. Agencies pay subscription fees for the service covering their 35-square-mile coverage area.
2. Live Dispatch Trial: Simulation-based trial service at $500/month allowing agencies to experience drone delivery integration with their dispatch workflow without hardware installation. Trial fee credited toward upfront cost if proceeding with live deployment.
3. Champion Hospital Partner Sponsorship: Hospitals sponsor local EMS agencies to enable drone delivery implementation in their communities, providing funding for deployment.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Archer First Response Systems (AFRS) provides a fully managed, 911-integrated autonomous drone delivery service that delivers life-saving medical equipment — AEDs, NARCAN, tourniquets, epinephrine, whole blood, and custom payloads up to 7 pounds — to 911 callers within a 35-square-mile coverage area in under 5 minutes. The turnkey system comprises Freefly AltaX aircraft with ASTM-certified parachute recovery, proprietary Ground Control Hub housing units, AFRS 911 CAD integration software, and the Archer Survey AI-based satellite mapping platform. It is sold to emergency communications centers, EMS agencies, fire-rescue departments, and hospitals (via the Champion Hospital Partner sponsorship program) with native dispatch integration into RapidSOS Portal and RapidDeploy.

Product overview

Archer First Response Systems offers a turnkey 911-integrated drone delivery ecosystem comprising four core components: AFRS aircraft deployment software integrated with RapidSOS Portal and RapidDeploy, the Freefly AltaX autonomous aircraft, the Ground Control Hub housing unit, and the Archer Survey AI-based satellite analysis platform for optimal delivery coordinate selection. The system delivers payloads up to 6.5-7 pounds including AEDs, NARCAN, tourniquets, epinephrine, and whole blood to 911 callers within 35 square miles in under 5 minutes. Additional offerings include the Live Dispatch Trial simulation service for agencies and the Champion Hospital Partner sponsorship program.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AFRS (Archer First Response Systems): Turnkey 911-based emergency medical supply delivery system providing payload delivery within 35-square-mile coverage area in less than five minutes.
• Archer Survey

Products and services

• Archer First Response Systems (AFRS) — 911 Integrated Emergency Drone Delivery Turnkey 911-based emergency medical supply delivery system that deploys autonomous drones to deliver life-saving equipment (AEDs, NARCAN, tourniquets, epinephrine, whole blood, and custom payloads up to 7 pounds) directly to 911 callers within a 35-square-mile coverage area in under 5 minutes. Integrates with RapidSOS Portal and RapidDeploy dispatch platforms and is sold to emergency communications centers, EMS agencies, fire-rescue departments, and hospitals via the Champion Hospital Partner Program.
• Archer Survey Proprietary AI-based satellite analysis platform that processes satellite imagery to identify optimal drone delivery coordinates and landing zones, pinpointing over 55,000 unobstructed locations for emergency payload delivery within the 35-square-mile service area. Sold as an integrated component of the AFRS deployment.
• Ground Control Hub Proprietary drone housing unit that maintains a homeostatic environment for the UAS vehicle and houses launch/recovery infrastructure. Includes cloud-based software that continuously monitors vehicle health, system status, weather, air traffic, temporary flight restrictions, advisories, and aircraft operating parameters, providing go/no-go status and ETAs. Delivered as part of the AFRS deployment.
• Live Dispatch Trial Simulation-based 30-day trial program priced at $500/month that enables agencies to experience drone delivery integration with their 911 dispatch workflows using simulated scenarios alongside real 911 calls, with no physical hardware installation. Includes template SOPs, virtual onboarding, and end-of-trial performance reporting. For 911 dispatch and EMS agencies evaluating AFRS before committing to a full deployment.
• Champion Hospital Partner Program Hospital sponsorship program that enables academic health systems and hospitals to sponsor local EMS agency adoption of AFRS emergency drone delivery. Provides hospitals with community health impact, branding and marketing opportunities, improved survive-to-discharge rates (supporting Value-Based Purchasing scores), and strengthened EMS partnerships. Creates a B2B2G sales motion by funding agency deployment the agency could not otherwise justify.

Quantifiable outcome

• 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur annually in the US with only 10% survival rate; drone-delivered AEDs can significantly improve survival chances
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability5 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, significant and supporting.

• RapidDeploycoreTechnology or Integration · 2 December 2020ArcherFRS joined RapidDeploy's Lightning Partner Program, integrating its drone deployment software into the RapidDeploy SaaS platform. This enables 911 agencies to locate victims and dispatch time-sensitive, lifesaving supplies by drone with the touch of a button. The integration allows AFRS to identify the closest available delivery location and estimated flight time based on victim's location provided by RapidDeploy.
• RapidSOScoreTechnology or IntegrationArcherFRS is integrated with RapidSOS Portal, enabling dispatchers to request emergency drone delivery directly from their existing RapidSOS interface without new screens or tools. RapidSOS provides supplemental location data and opt-in medical profile data for enhanced emergency response.
• Tampa General HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTampa General Hospital collaborated with Manatee County and ArcherFRS to accelerate response times to health-related emergencies with drone delivery. As part of TGH's commitment to transforming healthcare through innovation, the academic health system sponsors the first-in-the-nation 911 integrated drone delivery program in Manatee County.
• Manatee CountycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerManatee County Public Safety partnered with ArcherFRS and Tampa General Hospital to host the first-in-the-nation drone delivery program. The county provides the deployment site at EMS Lakewood Ranch Station and coordinates with ECC Dispatch for 911-triggered drone deployment.
• VerizonsignificantGTM or Marketing PartnerVerizon selected Archer UAS to showcase its emergency medical supply delivery system at Operation Convergent Response 2019. Verizon provided LTE modems and SIM cards for AFRS hardware and network connectivity. ArcherFRS appeared in Verizon's network TV advertisement featuring footage from the OCR event.
• Freefly SystemssupportingTechnology or IntegrationArcherFRS utilizes Freefly Systems AltaX unmanned aircraft equipped with proprietary safety and communication systems including ASTM-certified Parachute Recovery system, ADS-B receiver, on-board computer and LTE cell modem.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Skydio: Leading US-based autonomous drone manufacturer with a strong public safety and first-responder customer base. Broad incumbent because Skydio's autonomy stack and airframes are widely used by police, fire, and EMS agencies that overlap with ArcherFRS's buyer base, even though Skydio does not operate its own medical delivery service.
• Air Methods: Largest air ambulance operator in the US providing helicopter EMS transport and associated medical services. Broad incumbent operating in the same emergency medical response value chain, addressing the same time-critical patient outcome problem but via rotorcraft rather than drones.
• DJI: Global market-leading drone manufacturer with extensive enterprise and public safety distribution. Broad incumbent because DJI's enterprise drones (Matrice series) are commonly deployed by public safety and EMS agencies; any in-house or partner medical delivery build on DJI platforms would directly compete with ArcherFRS.
• American Medical Response: One of the largest ground ambulance and emergency medical services providers in the US, contracted with municipalities and hospitals nationwide. Broad incumbent because AMR operates the dispatch, response, and patient transport stack that ArcherFRS's drone system is designed to integrate with and augment in 911 workflows.

Direct peers

• Zipline: Autonomous drone delivery company specializing in medical supply delivery (blood, vaccines, prescriptions) to hospitals and health facilities. Direct peer because both operate autonomous drone delivery of medical/emergency payloads as a managed service to healthcare and government customers.
• Wing: Alphabet-owned autonomous drone delivery service operating in the US and internationally for consumer and medical packages. Direct peer in drone-based autonomous payload delivery, though Wing operates at broader consumer/retail scale; overlapping autonomy technology and FAA regulatory experience are highly comparable.
• Flirtey: US drone delivery company known for AED and medical package delivery, including FAA-approved deliveries beyond visual line of sight. Direct peer historically positioned around emergency medical drone delivery with similar payload categories (AEDs, defibrillators) and customer base of public safety agencies.
• Matternet: Drone delivery company focused on time-sensitive medical payloads between hospitals and labs. Direct peer because both offer autonomous, FAA-authorized drone delivery of medical supplies to healthcare providers, with similar business models and payload categories.
• Avive Solutions: Manufacturer of Avive AED and AED/drone delivery ecosystem partner referenced in ArcherFRS's payload options. Direct peer because they are pairing connected AED hardware with drone delivery programs targeting the same 911/sudden cardiac arrest use case and partnering with similar EMS and dispatch platforms.

Emerging players

• Phoenix Air Unmanned: US-based commercial drone services operator with a focus on public safety, emergency response, and inspection missions. Emerging player because they operate in the same drone-services-for-first-responders category as ArcherFRS but with a broader service mix (not focused on 911-integrated medical payload delivery).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/archer_frs
• Facebookfacebook.com/ArcherFRS
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/archer-first-response-systems

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Archer First Response Systems