AV in the News
Look here to find articles and citings in the press about AV, our people, our products and topics that relate to us. If you find something elsewhere that we have not posted, then let us know by sending us an email at info@avinc.com.33rd Anniversary of the First Human Powered Flight - Paul MacCready’s Gossamer Condor
August 23, 2010
Aug. 23, 1977: Pedal-Powered Gossamer Condor Flies Into Record Books
1977: Bryan Allen completes a figure-eight course piloting and powering the Gossamer Condor to claim the Kremer Prize for human-powered flight.
In 1959, British industrialist Henry Kremer created a prize for a successful human-powered aircraft. The criteria were fairly simple in concept, but would turn out to be very difficult to execute.
In order to win the prize, a person had to pilot a human-powered aircraft around a figure-eight course where the turning points are a half-mile apart. The aircraft had to clear a 10-foot hurdle at the beginning of the course and again at the end.
No Pilot, No Problem
August 16, 2010
AEROSPACE: Unmanned aerial vehicles soaring to new heights.
Before the Wasp gets used in the battlefields of Afghanistan, the small, lightweight aircraft gets a workout above the fruit fields of Ventura County.
Piloted from the ground by a controller similar to one used for video games, the Wasp floats gently and silently on the air, banking this way and that by the battery-powered propeller before coming in for a landing on the dirt of a pumpkin patch.
Though small in size – the Wasp ways all of 1 pound – the pilotless aircraft and others designed and manufactured by Aerovironment in Simi Valley mean big business.
Aviation Week: Hydrogen-Fueled UAV Begins Flight Tests
August 16, 2010
Following an initial hour-long, battery-powered flight, AeroVironment’s Global Observer unmanned aircraft is beginning a test program planned to culminate in a week-long flight in the stratosphere using liquid-hydrogen fuel. The flight debuts an innovative approach to persistent surveillance and marks a dramatic departure for a company that dominates the market for small, hand-launched UAVs.
U.S. Army Demonstrates Small UAS Family of Systems
August 04, 2010
The Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS) Product Office (PdO) has begun a 1-year demonstration and evaluation period in Afghanistan for a Family of Small Air Vehicles.
The Family of Systems (FoS) demonstration is the first excursion for the SUAS PdO into an expanded inventory of small unmanned aircraft. The 1/101 Brigade Combat Team (BCT) is the first unit to receive the FoS equipment and will receive 15 systems. These systems will consist of the Wasp air vehicle to support platoon reconnaissance, the current Raven air vehicle, focused on company-level operations, and a Puma-All Environment (AE) air vehicle supporting battalion-level operations—all controlled by a common ground station.
New Mission Planning and Operator Training Capability for Raven UAS
August 02, 2010
A Virtual Lift for UAS Training
There are hundreds of initiatives utilizing UAS. Some of the most significant include the use of munitions on aircraft that have historically been for imagery purposes only and manned-unmanned platform (MUM) teaming. A big trend for UAS training is the growing reliance on virtual simulation for operator training.
AeroVironment, Inc. Rings The Opening Bell at NASDAQ July 12, 2010
July 12, 2010
TechNewsDaily: Airborne Robotic Mites Patrol War Zones
June 16, 2010
When launched into the air, it looks like a kid’s radio-controlled model airplane. Looks are deceiving. The RQ-11B Raven is launched by a soldier, not a kid. And it’s not a toy.
The Raven, a three-foot long, four-pound unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a four-foot wingspan, is doing yeoman service for coalition warfighters in Iraq and Afghanistan, conducting reconnaissance, surveillance, target identification and battle damage assessment missions.
“People’s lives have been saved because of them,” said Steven Gitlin, VP of marketing strategy and communications for AeroVironment, the plane’s manufacturer. “They’ve been able to see the threats before the threats see them.”
Automotive News: So Far, Garage Is Hub Of EV Charging Action
June 14, 2010
A small but serviceable infrastructure for charging the batteries in electric vehicles is springing up in the United States, but it's largely in people's own garages.
Outside the home, more charging stations are being built, but locations are still widely scattered. In the long run, experts say, the basic charging technology being used to launch tiny volumes of EVs today probably will predominate in the near future.
Ravens Provide ‘Eye in The Sky’ For 2HBCT Units
June 07, 2010
CONTINGENCY OPERATING SITE MAREZ, Iraq - While Israel ushered in the age of the unmanned aerial vehicle during its 1982 war with Lebanon, now, almost 30 years later, these aircraft are continuing to prove their value in the airspace and battlefields of Iraq.
At a cost of approximately $35,000 per plane, it's often more cost effective to send out a remote-controlled aircraft, then a squad of Soldiers for a reconnaissance mission. Most recently, the military recognized more than one million flight hours flown by Army unmanned aircraft systems.
LA Times: AeroVironment To Install Up To 100 Electric-Car Charging Stations In South Carolina
June 03, 2010
Monrovia's AeroVironment to install up to 100 electric-car charging stations in South Carolina
The stations in seven cities will be funded largely by state grants. They're expected to be running by Dec. 1 and ready for the rollout of the electric Ford Focus, the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Volt.
By Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times
Ventura County Star: AV Awarded $11 Million Contract For Tiny Spy Planes
May 13, 2010
Simi business awarded $11 million contract for tiny spy planes.
Tiny military spy planes made in Simi Valley are bringing in big dollars for one of the city’s largest employers, which has landed $29.2 million in government contracts since March.
AeroVironment Inc. was awarded an $11.2 million contract Monday to supply the Army with 63 of the remote-controlled spy planes. That contract comes on the heels of a $12 million order the Monrovia-based technology firm secured in March from the Army, and a $6 million order from the Marines in April.
WSJ: Hatching New Ideas
May 10, 2010
Five important technological advances that have the potential to transform the transport industry
Crystal ball gazing is always a tricky business, not least in the transport industry where so many competing agendas – politics, infrastructure, fuel security, technology and consumer demand – are at play. Each of the following technologies has the potential to address at least a couple of those concerns and maybe transform the way people and goods move around the world.
Edmunds.com/Green Car Advisor: California-Based EV-Charging Station Maker AeroVironment
May 04, 2010
California-Based EV-Charging Station Maker AeroVironment Is Going to Carolina
By Danny King, Contributor
South Carolina may not have been included in Coulomb Technologies' plans announced earlier this week to deploy 4,600 electric-vehicle charging stations across the U.S. over the next 18 months, but fear not, Palmetto State residents, you are covered.
AeroVironment Inc., the California-based company that earlier this year reached agreements with automakers Nissan and Think to deploy electric-vehicle charging stations, will work with the South Carolina state government and utilities at developing a network of EV-charging stations across the state.
Nissan USA Website: Nissan Leaf Home Charging Video
April 21, 2010
AV’s Raven Featured on Fox News
April 15, 2010
Ward’s Auto Feature: AeroVironment Takes on Home Charging for Nissan Leaf
April 08, 2010
California-based AeroVironment Inc., better known in military circles as a maker of unmanned aircraft systems, is partnering with Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. to make home-charging units for U.S. buyers of the upcoming Leaf electric vehicle. The charger also will be compatible with other EVs, including the upcoming Chevy Volt and Ford Focus electrified vehicles. “It’s a very good charger, (and) it will work for any car,” Kristen Hensel, vice president-EV Solutions for AeroVironment’s Efficient Energy Systems, tells Ward’s.
Homeland Security Today: The Rising 10 Homeland Security Companies to Watch
April 05, 2010
...The Rising 10 companies are noteworthy because they include companies involved in the diverse activities that make up homeland security. They range from major systems integrators to detection companies to manufacturers of the technologies such as unmanned aerial vehicles.
Nissan Delivers Affordable Solutions For Purchase, Lease Of All-Electric Nissan LEAF
March 30, 2010
As low as $25,280 ($32,780 MSRP minus up to $7,500 federal tax credit)
Lease world’s first mass-marketed EV for $349 per month
Nissan North America, Inc. (NNA) today announced U.S. pricing for the 2011 Nissan LEAF electric vehicle, which becomes available for purchase or lease at Nissan dealers in select markets in December and nationwide in 2011. Nissan will begin taking consumer reservations for the Nissan LEAF April 20.
Kirkuk Airmen Use Small Aircraft with Huge Capabilities
March 26, 2010
Airmen here use the RQ-11B Raven, a small unmanned aircraft equipped with cameras, sensors and communications tools, to give coalition warfighters an advantage of eyes in the sky.
Monrovia Firm is on the Cutting Edge of `Green’
February 22, 2010
MONROVIA - A local company is going into the future fully charged.
After two decades of riding the fits and starts of the electric vehicle movement, Monrovia-based AeroVironment, Inc. finds itself at the forefront of an industry that could finally go mainstream. That industry, electric vehicles, represents potential for new jobs ranging from workers at lithium battery plants to electricians working on installing charging stations.
AV’s UAS Featured on ABC News
February 17, 2010
Raven Takes Flight For North
January 27, 2010
Test Area 3 became the scene of a popular Fox news show Jan. 19 during a visit by retired Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North.
The highly decorated and once controversial Marine officer is now a political commentator, bestselling author and television host of “War Stories with Oliver North” on the Fox News Channel. During his Redstone Arsenal visit, the Fox cameras were focused on the Raven unmanned aircraft system, and the Soldiers and Program Executive Office for Aviation employees behind its success on the battlefield.
Zero to 80% in 15 minutes: New Benchmark For EV Fast-Charging
January 26, 2010
WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan. 26, 2010 – Electric vehicle manufacturer THINK today announced that it will work with AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV) (AV), a leading developer and supplier of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, to pursue demonstration and commercial projects using AV’s level III fast-charge system and the THINK City electric vehicle. The projects will be designed to jump-start the development of fast-charge infrastructure in the United States.
Water World: Delivering Clean Water With Clean Energy
January 21, 2010
According to the United Nations Human Development Report, more than 1.1 billion people have inadequate access to clean water. This number is growing, making access to fresh water an increasingly critical problem to be addressed, particularly in developing nations where electrical infrastructure is not available. Innovative solutions to help solve this problem have become a necessity, and one such solution is the Universal Solar Pump Controller (USPC), a unique "gridless" pump-controlling technology that converts solar energy to electricity for powering pumping devices.
The USPC, developed by AeroVironment, Inc. (AV), helps provide water to regions that have little or no grid-tied electricity. In the East African Republic of Uganda, much of the country remains unconnected to the electrical grid, and in the town of Kitgum, more than 300 kilometers north of Kampala, the capital of Uganda, the USPC provides water to the community using solar generated electricity.
Forbes: AeroVironment Will Build A Filling Station In Your Garage
January 18, 2010
AeroVironment's persistence may pay off big.
The quirky Monrovia, Calif.-based company was hired by General Motors in the 1980s to help develop electric vehicles, leading to the first mass-produced electric vehicle, the EV-1. While GM gave up on the car, AeroVironment kept up its electric vehicle research and development and has been offering EV charging and testing equipment and services to automakers as well as selling a line of chargers for heavy-duty electric forklifts.
Boxer Lauds Critical Investments in California Clean Energy Projects
January 14, 2010
Los Angeles, CA – U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) today praised President Obama’s announcement that seven California companies involved in clean-energy manufacturing will receive more than $235 million in job-creating tax credits.
Senator Boxer said, “California is on the cutting edge of the growing clean-energy economy. I am so proud the Department of Energy recognized the leadership of these companies and awarded a quarter-billion dollars of investment to our state that will result in the jobs and energy savings that we so desperately need.”
Nissan North America Selects AeroVironment To Install Home-Charging Stations For Nissan Leaf
January 11, 2010
Agreement part of one-stop shop experience for EV purchase process.
Detroit, Mich. - Nissan North America (NNA) today announced its selection of AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV) (AV) to supply electric vehicle home-charging stations and installation services supporting the introduction of the zero-emission, all-electric Nissan LEAF later this year.
TÜV SÜD America Expands Battery Testing Services
December 03, 2009
Auburn Hills, Michigan - December 3, 2009 - TÜV SÜD America Inc., a global testing and certification firm, has increased the scope of the Battery Testing services it provides. Two sites are involved in this expansion, Auburn Hills and Holland, Michigan. Both locations will see additional investments in 2009 and early 2010. With the addition of advanced battery cyclers from AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV), TÜV SÜD America will provide its customers with battery testing and simulation services on a global scale. Since the 1990s, AeroVironment has supplied EV and electric system test equipment to electric vehicle, fuel cell, and battery manufacturers around the world.
AeroVironment, Inc. Industry Support and Challenges
December 01, 2009
Reprinted with permission: ARMY AVIATION Magazine
U.S. Army Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have driven the growing demand for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) assets to support combat operations. The rapid increase in the number of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), providing real-time visual information to field commanders, helps to satisfy this demand.
Army to Expand Raven Family of Unmanned Aircraft
November 17, 2009
Soldiers like the Raven unmanned aircraft — the smallest in the Army’s inventory — because they can lug it around in a rucksack and launch it into the air by hand. Ground commanders now want the flexibility to fly the system higher and for longer periods.
Officials at the Army’s unmanned aircraft systems program are proposing a new concept for the Raven. They are looking to expand it into a set of Ravens of three different sizes, says Col. Gregory Gonzalez, project manager of the UAS program. One would be smaller than the current Raven, the other would be larger to give troops more options.
AV Test Systems Support EV Development
November 11, 2009
FEV grows its EV and hybrid expertise to develop tomorrow’s electrified powertrains.
In the last 12 months we have developed, or helped develop, 10 different alternative powered vehicles, either electric, range-extended, or hybrid vehicles," said Dr. Jochem Wolschendorf, Chief Technical Officer and Vice President of Vehicle and Drivetrain Engineering for FEV.
Army To Field Upgraded Raven UAV In December
November 04, 2009
When a commander in the war zone needs a bird’s eye view, it often means grabbing a nearby rucksack and releasing a small unmanned aerial vehicle dubbed the Raven.
Tossed to the skies and controlled from the ground, soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan are using the UAV for overhead observation.
Aviation Week Profiles AV’s “Creative Culture”
October 29, 2009
Once best-known for its human- and solar-powered aircraft and more recently renowned for its small unmanned air systems, AeroVironment depends on innovation more than most other technology companies.
Founded by legendary aeronautical engineer Paul MacCready in 1971, AeroVironment became a household name within a decade when his company won successive Kremer prizes for human-powered flight with the Gossamer Condor and Albatross aircraft.
Forbes.com The 200 Best Small Companies
October 27, 2009
Behind the numbers of this year's best small companies.
Small fry got smacked hard in year two of the Great Recession: 42% of the companies in the Russell 2000 small-company index lost money in the last 12 months, versus 22% for those in the S&P 500. Still, enough winners emerged to ease the sector's overall pain. The Russell was up 8%, the S&P 6%.
Smiths Detection, AeroVironment and US Army Collaborate on Chemical Agent-Detecting UAV
October 05, 2009
EDGEWOOD, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Smiths Detection today announces the successful creation and demonstration of an unmanned aircraft chemical detection and identification system capable of warning troops against chemical warfare agents. The detection and identification system, able to fit in the interchangeable nose cone of a Raven® UAV, is a result of the collaborative efforts between Smiths Detection, AeroVironment, Inc. (AV) (Nasdaq: AVAV), the U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center and other U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) laboratories.
AV Featured on ABC News, Ahead of the Curve
September 29, 2009
AV’s Raven Helps Protect Danish Soldiers In Afghanistan
September 25, 2009
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- The Scandinavian countries are in an arms deal frenzy: While Sweden is in negotiations to sell fighter jets to Brazil, Denmark is looking to buy a host of weapons systems to boost its troops in Afghanistan.
Test Flights: New Unmanned Aircraft Tested At Dugway
September 24, 2009
DUGWAY – The U.S. Army's unmanned aircraft effort officially stepped out of its infancy Wednesday with the opening of a new center that will pool resources and brainpower. The Unmanned Aircraft Systems Project Office Rapid Integration and Acceptance Center's mission is to develop more, better, faster deployments of the remotely controlled surveillance and communication relay vehicles. Both Army brass and ground troops say the aircraft are the best thing next to their gun and helmet to have on the battlefield.
View Dugway UAS Video Footage
AeroVironment Receives the “Green Technology Award” at SGV’s Annual Awards Gala
September 16, 2009
ARCADIA - Innovation, community service, corporate responsibility - these are the building blocks that can sustain and move an economy forward. And seven of the San Gabriel Valley's most outstanding businesses, organizations and individuals were honored Friday for their role in helping to do just that. The honors were given at the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership's sixth annual awards gala, held Friday night at Santa Anita Park. AeroVironment Inc., a Monrovia-based maker of unmanned surveillance planes and intelligent charging systems for electric vehicles, received the Green Technology Award.
Electric Car Buzz Drives Firm’s Fuel Station Plan
August 24, 2009
An AeroVironment worker demonstrates the Monrovia company's electric fuel 'pump'.
With every automaker announcing an electric car, AeroVironment Inc. believes it is time to take its expertise in vehicle refueling on the road.
The Monrovia-based company, best known for manufacturing unmanned aircraft, is in the final stages of designing electric vehicle charging stations for residential and commercial use. It's already pitching them to companies, government agencies, policymakers and automakers, hoping for a big piece of a market that's now tiny but has huge growth potential. About $320 billion is expected to be spent on equipment and infrastructure for electric vehicle charging over the next couple of decades.
AV Featured on Engineering TV
August 10, 2009
AV’s Nano Air Vehicle Featured on G4TV
August 05, 2009
Real Flying Saucers, Supersonic Fighters, and Battle Birds
Sometimes the things we see in action movies are real. No, really! Check out these actual military forces like a flying saucer prototype, the supersonic F35C Lightning II stealth fighter and a nano air vehicle modeled after a hummingbird. Don't get any crazy ideas about becoming a movie action hero.
AV Featured in the LA Business Journal - These Firms Keep Things Interesting
August 04, 2009
I was thumbing through Forbes magazine a few weeks ago, and came across an article about AeroVironment Inc. The story was about how the Monrovia company is developing an explosive so it can add a lethal punch to its little drone aircraft that are popular with American soldiers in Afghanistan.
Fast-Charging EVs: Time to Get Down to Business
July 24, 2009
You may never have heard of California-based AeroVironment (founded in 1971), but it’s the company that brought you the first version of the General Motors EV-1, and a whole host of ultra-cool sun-powered lightweight racers, including the Solar Challenger and the Sunraycer.
UAV Ravens Keep An Eye In Iraqi Skies
July 23, 2009
KIRKUK — Launching an unmanned aircraft by throwing it in the air really hard might not sound too technologically advanced, but with surveillance equipment and auto navigational systems on board, these easily-deployable UAVs can be the difference between life and death on the battlefields of Iraq.
This aircraft, known as a "Raven," is operated by two Soldiers here with the 1st Cavalry Division, who use it as an "eye in the sky" around the base.
Defence Chiefs Visit Camp Growl at TS09
July 23, 2009
Australia’s Vice Chief of the Defence Force (VCDF) LTGEN David Hurley, the Chief of Army (CA) LTGEN Ken Gillespie, the Chief of Navy (CN) VADM Russell Crane, took the opportunity to see the range of new joint capabilities incorporated during Ex TS09, including the projection of military power through amphibious naval operations aboard a Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD), the "Wasp" - an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and the latest technological advances in urban warfare simulation, in addition to the warm rapport between Australian and U.S. service personnel.
In The Driver’s Seat Of An Electrified Future
July 21, 2009
For Kristen Helsel, all roads lead to electric chargers - political, social and technological roads, that is. And electric cars will be on those roads.
How To Build a Spy Bat - AeroVironment Featured on Forbes.com
June 26, 2009
Researchers are studying creatures that fly through the night in hopes of making tiny flying spies.
As U.S. soldiers march over the mountains of Afghanistan, they lug in backpacks contraptions that look more like model planes than military equipment: flying drones that can buzz over ridges and mountains, looking for Taliban and terrorists. The drones, which the soldiers direct with a controller that looks like a videogame, make their reports by sending back real-time video feeds.
Forbes Magazine Profiles AeroVironment
June 26, 2009
A maker of tiny spy drones used in Iraq and Afghanistan is trying to add lethal firepower and altitude to its profitable business. Aerovironment, a Monrovia, Calif. company, set the world record for altitude in 2001, when it flew a gangly, remote-controlled, solar-powered plane with a 250-foot wingspan to 96,863 feet. The sky is dark up there, and the air is thin, just one-hundredth the density of air at sea level.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Drones Win Their Spurs
June 15, 2009
There have been few winners in Iraq and Afghanistan. Casualty rates have been high among both locals and foreign military forces. Meanwhile, equipment, ethics and strategies have all come a cropper in the difficult physical and political terrain. Unmanned aerial vehicles or drones are a notable exception.
New Model Army?
May 28, 2009
U.S. Marines On Operations In Remote Southwest Afghanistan...BAQWA, AFGHANISTAN - MARCH 21: U.S. Marine Sgt. Nicholas Bender launches a Raven surveillance drone from Marine base perimeter on March 21, 2009 near the remote village of Baqwa, Afghanistan. Marines from the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment use the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to get real time intelligence on Taliban movements.
AeroVironment’s EV Charging Systems Featured on CBS Evening News.
May 09, 2009
AeroVironment's EV Charging Systems featured on CBS Evening News segment regarding "Green Technology and Economic Growth."
Military Embraces Green Energy
April 26, 2009
Reporting from Ft. Irwin, Calif. - Inside a futuristic-looking dome that rises from the sandy wasteland of the high Mojave Desert, soldiers in plywood cubicles work at computers powered by solar panels and a towering wind turbine. Plug-in cars shuttle the troops across the vast expanses here at Ft. Irwin in San Bernardino County. At night, tents lined with insulating foam provide a cool retreat at the end of a 100-degree day.
TALES OF THE TAPE: Unmanned Planes Fuel AeroVironment Growth
April 21, 2009
CHICAGO (Dow Jones)-With a corner on the U.S. defense market for very small, unmanned aircraft and new clean energy technology in the pipeline, AeroVironment, Inc.'s (AVAV) chairman and chief executive, Timothy Conver, expects the company to find continued opportunities for revenue growth. Conver said Secretary Robert Gates's strategy at the U.S. Department of Defense, to offer greater support to current armed forces, plays into AeroVironment's strength.
