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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.Unmanned Aircraft A Controversial Surveillance Tool For N.D. Law Enforcement
January 31, 2012
Grand Forks, N.D. — In a first for local law enforcement in the region, 16 North Dakota counties will soon use two small unmanned aircraft to monitor crime scenes and track suspects.
Much like the unmanned aircraft flying over war zones in Afghanistan or along U.S. borders, these aircraft are small enough to into the back of an SUV. But each carry a camera and can provide streaming video to a police officer piloting the plane from the ground.
Drones Fly Into Nascent Civilian Market Ripe With Energy, Environmental Applications
January 25, 2012
As a Russian tanker plowed through the frozen Bering Sea to deliver fuel to Nome, Alaska, earlier this month, it had an unlikely helper: a small drone that hovered overhead, sending images of the sea ice to researchers onshore who were plotting the vessel's path and planning oil spill contingencies.
Drone technology, which revolutionized the way the U.S. military spies and fights, is now opening vast new opportunities for environmental researchers and the energy industry. And the Arctic -- with its brutal temperatures and vast, unpopulated spaces making manned flight difficult and dangerous -- is ground zero for those efforts.
Channel Nine Australia: New Look At US Military Drones
January 21, 2012
The US military is redeveloping a form of technology that gives them the edge in combat without risking lives.
UAVs Shrink As Technology Grows
January 16, 2012
AeroVironment has captured the imagination of a worldwide audience with news of a major extension of its activities into nano air vehicles (NAVs).
Ever since human beings first discovered the basic principles of lift and the importance of wing shapes, the necessary muscle power and control movements of birds defeated all attempts to emulate the mechanical process of using wing flapping to beat gravity. The hummingbird’s amazing ability to conduct a perfectly stable hover has long fascinated students of aerodynamics, especially when slow-motion film footage displays the complexity and perfection of its ultrahigh-speed wing flapping movements.
The Economist: Civilian Drones Difference Engine: Unblinking Eye In The Sky
January 13, 2012
WHEN drones are used even by environmental activists to track down Japanese whaling vessels, it is a sure sign that UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) are no longer the sole prerogative of the military. Police forces around the world are certainly keen to lay their hands on small pilotless aircraft to help them nab fleeing criminals and monitor crime scenes from above. With price tags of a little more (and, in some case, a good deal less) than the $40,000 of a patrol car, a new generation of micro-UAVs is being recruited to replace police helicopters costing $1.7m and up.
Ugandans Train on Raven UAVs
January 05, 2012
REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- Uganda air force Pvt. Ronald Mudhasi locked his arm as instructed and flung the small remote-controlled airplane into the overcast sky.
The Raven flew majestically above Test Area 3 but Mudhasi's work wasn't finished. He joined his countrymen and their instructors under a nearby canopy to help control the unmanned aircraft system's flight.
Eight members of the Uganda air force received training on the Raven Dec. 12-23. The Uganda defense forces purchased four of the systems in July for $3 million, according to logistics management specialist Cindy Vanburg of AMCOM's Security Assistance Management Directorate.
AeroVironment Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Featured On BBC News
December 29, 2011
Private companies are developing smaller, more sophisticated unmanned military drones to be used for air strikes or reconnaissance missions.
The technology is big business in the US and California has become a hub for designing and building the devices.
And as Alastair Leithead reports, they could soon be used in the US as well as abroad.
Top 7 ‘Breakthrough’ Military Weapons
December 26, 2011
A kamikaze drone, developed by military contractor AeroVironment, fits easily into a backpack, can be guided via real-time video to hunt down enemies and explode on impact.
Drone Maker Came of Age After 9/11 Attacks
December 26, 2011
Drone maker AeroVironment Inc. came of age during America's post-9/11 wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
They were the right conflicts at the right time for the Monrovia-based defense contractor, which designs, develops and manufactures drones in Simi Valley, company officials said.
Because of the nature of those wars, in which U.S. troops faced small groups of adversaries embedded in civilian populations or hiding in agricultural areas and caves, drones — or as AeroVironment prefers to call them, small unmanned aircraft systems — proved to be an essential tool in the military's arsenal.
Energy Companies Eyeing Drones to Survey Pipelines
December 18, 2011
New regulatory recommendations expected to be released by the Federal Aviation Administration soon could allow oil-and-gas companies to purchase light-weight unmanned drones akin to those used by the military.
Energy companies already use remotely operated vehicles to monitor and manipulate wells at extreme underwater depths, and unmanned aircraft companies hope that in the coming years, companies will be able to hire or buy aerial drones to survey pipelines, check on hard-to-reach parts of platforms and gather information after an offshore accident occurs.
AeroVironment Profiled in Bloomberg Businessweek
December 08, 2011
Flight of the Warbots
How a save-the-earth maker of solar-powered aircraft became the world's most prolific manufacturer of military drones.
The members of Apache Troop couldn’t see a thing. It was August 2010, 0200 hours. About 120 U.S. and Iraqi soldiers were silently spreading out over a remote farm in northwestern Iraq. Their objective: a mud hut where, according to intelligence reports, two suicide bombers were planning an attack on a checkpoint to coincide with the end of Ramadan. But the allied soldiers, even wearing night vision goggles, couldn’t locate the hut; eight-foot-tall sunflowers obscured their view.
LA Times: Idea of Civilians Using Drone Aircraft May Soon Fly With FAA
November 27, 2011
The Federal Aviation Administration plans to propose new rules for the use of small drones in January, a first step toward clearing the way for police departments, farmers and others to employ the technology.
Mini Unmanned Copters Offer New Eyes in Sky for First Responders
November 22, 2011
Manned choppers have proven their worth many times over in helping law enforcement agencies and other first responders keep our communities safe. But only 1 percent of the estimated 15,000 to 18,000 law-enforcement agencies in the U.S. have access to air assets. They cost too much to buy and operate for most municipalities.
Unmanned Aircraft: Bringing A Switchblade To A Knife Fight
November 18, 2011
In a recent story for Bloomberg Businessweek, Tony Capaccio, one of the best defense reporters in Washington, broke the story about the use by Special Operations Forces in Afghanistan of a Switchblade. As the capitalization of the word might indicate, the Switchblade to which I am referring is not the knife made famous in Hollywood B movies. Rather, it is an ingenious, miniature unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that is also a weapon. According to Capaccio’s sources, just under a dozen Switchblades have been employed to date with great effect and SOF has asked for almost a dozen more. The fielding of Switchblade is the leading edge of what is likely to be the broader, even wholesale, weaponization of unmanned systems.
LA Times: Southland Aerospace Innovations Snag Magazine Awards
November 18, 2011
Southern California's aerospace technology has recently received national recognition.
This week's Time magazine cover features Monrovia-based drone maker AeroVironment Inc.’s Nano Hummingbird as one of the best inventions of 2011.
TIME Magazine “50 Best Inventions of 2011”
November 17, 2011
Don’t be fooled by its colorful exterior. This tiny Hummingbird is actually a surveillance prototype for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, developed by the California based AeroVironment. The Hummingbird—officially called the Nano Air Vehicle—is among 50 new inventions, which appear in the new issue of TIME.
Popular Science: Nano Hummingbird Receives “Best of What’s New in 2011” Award & “Grand Award Winner
November 16, 2011
Nano was selected as the "Grand Award Winner" for the Security category.
Most flying robots use rotors or propellers, limiting the craft’s ability to maneuver in tight places. The Nano Hummingbird navigates by changing the angle and shape of its paper-thin wings—which beat 20 to 40 times per second—and can hover in place for up to 11 minutes. It is also small enough to fly through windows or other small openings, strong enough to carry a microphone or camera, and stable enough to maintain a highly controlled hover, even in gusts of wind.
Small UAV Raven
November 15, 2011
Pilots might dismiss Ravens as radio-controlled toys, but they are popular with soldiers in Afghanistan. The American army’s entire annual purchase of almost 1,300 Ravens is thus lighter than a single fully armed Reaper. The two-kilogram RQ-11B Raven from AeroVironment of Monrovia, California looks like a model aircraft and can fit into a backpack.
Big Ideas Need Time To Develop
November 08, 2011
Nov 08, 2011 (The Salina Journal - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- There are lots of great ideas, but turning one into a usable -- and sellable -- product can take years, if not decades.
That was part of the message from Tim Conver, chairman and CEO of AeroVironment, a California-based company known worldwide for its innovations.
AV Talks Small UAS on Federal News Radio
October 27, 2011
Drones — officially known as unmanned aerial systems — have patrolled the U.S.-Mexico border and targeted terrorist leaders halfway across the world. Someday fighters and bombers will likely even be unmanned.
And now one company has learned how to downsize the latest weapon of war to a size small enough to fit in a soldier's backpack.
Popular Mechanics: Nano Hummingbird Receives 2011 Breakthrough Award
October 03, 2011
Flight, Reimagined: The First Robotic Hummingbird
No thrusters, no propellers, just flapping wings. These Breakthrough innovators embraced the challenge of building a tiny aircraft under those constraints. Their creation, a machine that look and flies just like a hummingbird, shows the wild potential of tiny remote-controlled aircraft.
US Geological Survey Uses Raven to Monitor River Erosion on Indian Reservation
September 22, 2011
The US Geological Survey has just released this video of its Raven flights to monitor river bank erosion on the Lower Brule reservation on the bank of the Missouri River that we reported in August.The Lower Brule Sioux Tribe (LBST) Environmental Protection Office asked the USGS for assistance in monitoring erosion of the Missouri River shoreline on the Lower Brule Reservation.
“Spy in the Sky” - AV’s UAS Featured on KTLA
September 06, 2011
MSNBC: Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems - The Future of Technology
September 06, 2011
The Economist: Joining The Drones Club
August 15, 2011
THE future of air power is likely to be unmanned. It may also be surprisingly small. Reapers and Predators grab the headlines, but these big, high-profile drones are already outnumbered by small and cheap but capable craft.
One good example is the RQ-11B Raven, made by AeroVironment of Monrovia, California, and widely used by America’s armed forces. It looks like a model aircraft. When disassembled it fits into a backpack. Launching it is just a matter of snapping the parts together and throwing it into the air, whence it is carried aloft by an electric propeller. It weighs just two kilograms. That means the American army’s entire annual purchase of almost 1,300 Ravens is lighter than a single fully armed Reaper. Pilots might dismiss Ravens as radio-controlled toys, but they are popular with soldiers and more are being rushed to Afghanistan.
Coming Soon: Hummingbird-sized Drone
July 15, 2011
AV's Nano Hummingbird UAS featured on Fox News.
Scientists Use AV’s Puma AE UAS to Study Stellar Sea Lions in Alaska
July 07, 2011
Between June 14-15, researchers from the Poker Flat Research Range tested the AeroVironment Puma AE, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that they hope will aide scientists in studying the decline in western Alaska’s Stellar sea lion population.
Time Magazine: Gears Of War: Inside America’s Incredible Military Arsenal
June 28, 2011
From high-tech stealth bombers, to the latest night-vision rifles and assault helicopters, the U.S. armed forces have the most sophisticated military hardware in the world. Here are some of the niftiest pieces of equipment used in recent missions from Operation Odyssey Dawn in Libya to the Osama bin Laden raid in Pakistan.
RQ-11 Raven Drone, Puma AE Drone, Wasp Drone
Army Surging Hundreds of Small UAV’s to Afghanistan
June 24, 2011
Even as President Obama draws up plans to start bringing some combat troops home form Afghanistan next month, the reality is the vast majority of troops aren’t going anywhere for at least another year. As a result, the Army is sticking with its plans to surge hundreds of hand-launched Raven and Puma unmanned aerial systems (UAS) to Afghanistan this summer
American Micro-Drones As Small As A Humming Bird
June 20, 2011
American military engineers are developing a new generation of aerial micro-drones, shrinking the unmanned aircraft to the size of insects and birds.
Black Sea Rotational Force 11 Brings the Raven to Romania
June 06, 2011
BUZAU, Romania - Recently, U.S. Marines and soldiers with Black Sea Rotational Force 11 travelled to Buzau, Romania, to provide the Romanian army a familiarization course to display the capabilities of the Raven-B, unmanned aerial vehicle.
This familiarization course was presented over five days and was split between classroom lectures and practical application exercises, where Romanian soldiers were given some stick time on the Raven system.
It’s A Bird … It’s A Plane … No, It’s the Wasp III
May 06, 2011
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – In today's warfare, being able to put a set of eyes on the enemy first, without the enemy knowing, greatly increases the success rate of the mission.
Soldiers with the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division were the first U.S. Army Soldiers in Iraq to receive training on the Wasp III, an unmanned micro-aerial surveillance system, and take it for a test flight April 24 around Camp Taji.
"This system is effective, lightweight and very adaptable," said Staff Sgt. Brian Phillips, a Raven unmanned aerial surveillance master trainer with Company C, 1st Battalion, 38th Inf. Regiment, 4th SBCT, 2nd Inf. Div. "A single Soldier, at the company or platoon level can throw the whole system on their back and carry it into the field,"
Army Rushes to Deploy Small Drones to Afghanistan, But Needs Better Trained Operators
April 20, 2011
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The demand for small unmanned aircraft continues to grow. Hundreds of new systems are being shipped to Afghanistan, officials said, but training enough operators before they deploy remains a challenge.
“We’ve had a tremendous request from theater to increase the number of small UAS that are going to brigade combat teams, particularly in the southern part of Afghanistan,” Col. Greg Gonzalez, project manager for Army UAS, said April 19 at the Army Aviation Association of America’s annual forum. “That terrain, that mission down there lends itself to these.
Send Out Ravens, Save Soldiers
March 17, 2011
FORT HOOD, Texas — It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s actually both, sort of.
Soldiers from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division and the 41st Fires Brigade re-certified on the Army’s smallest unmanned aerial vehicle, the Raven RQ-11B.
The master Raven trainers from the 41st Fires Brigade trained with Rail Gunner Raven operators and several of 2nd BCT Raven operators to re-certify and obtain more Raven flight time during the two-day re-certification course at House Creek Urban Assault Range located on Fort Hood, Texas, March 10-11.
CNN: The U.S. Military Is Testing Tiny Drones Shaped Like Hummingbirds
March 10, 2011
Hummingbird spy drone tested.
Fox News: New Drones Mimic Nature
March 01, 2011
ABC World News Bird’s Eye View At AeroVironment’s Nano Hummingbird
February 19, 2011
A Bird's Eye View
A robotic hummingbird may soon be the Pentagon's latest weapon.
Fortune Magazine: From Electric Cars To Military Ops
February 17, 2011
General Motors pulled the plug on its first electric car, but supplier AeroVironment used some of that experience to build a very different kind of vehicle for the U.S. military.
AeroVironment, a firm based in Monrovia, Calif., whose products include gear for electric, hydrogen, and hybrid cars, is applying its environmentally friendly research to a technology that at first blush might make some tree huggers tremble: a military drone that could be used to assist in battle.
LA Times: It’s a bird! It’s a spy! It’s both
February 17, 2011
Backed by the Pentagon's research arm, Monrovia firm AeroVironment has developed the Nano Hummingbird, an experimental miniature drone that could one day do reconnaissance by landing on a window ledge.
A pocket-size drone dubbed the Nano Hummingbird for the way it flaps its tiny robotic wings has been developed for the Pentagon by a Monrovia company as a mini-spy plane capable of maneuvering on the battlefield and in urban areas.
The battery-powered drone was built by AeroVironment Inc. for the Pentagon's research arm as part of a series of experiments in nanotechnology. The little flying machine is built to look like a bird for potential use in spy missions.
CNN Money: Tiny Spy Planes, Big Business
February 11, 2011
Soldiers use small, remote-controlled airplanes made by California-based Aerovironment to spy on enemies in battle.
Smaller Is Better For Army UAS
February 04, 2011
The US Army wants to increase dramatically the number of small unmanned aircraft in the hands of its solders (you can read Amy Butler's story here). Where now there are 17 RQ-11 Ravens in a brigade combat team (BCT), the Army plans to increase this to 49 "family of systems" SUAS.
Initially the family will comprise AeroVironment's 4.2lb Raven plus its bigger 13lb Puma and smaller 0.95lb Wasp, but the Army has its eye on a new family of systems. And it could be big business.
ABC News Gets An Exclusive Look At An Aircraft That Could Revolutionize Surveillance
January 23, 2011
Eye in the Sky: Pentagon Tests New Spy Plane
ABC News Gets an Exclusive Look at an Aircraft That Could Revolutionize Surveillance
High over the Mojave desert, the Pentagon has been quietly testing a new generation of unmanned plane that flies higher, soars longer and runs greener than anything in the Pentagon's arsenal.
"This will really change the way we think about aviation," Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Zachary Lemnios told ABC News. "And it's going to open up an entirely new future."
Army Pilots: Flying Drones Tougher Than It Looks
January 14, 2011
Flying unmanned aircraft over war zones may seem to outsiders like playing a tricked-out video game. But these operations can be, indeed, dangerous, aviators contend. Bad weather, makeshift runways and close calls with friendly aircraft are among the hazards that put missions at risk.
LA Times: New Generation of Unmanned Spy Planes Is Being Tested
January 11, 2011
An experimental spy plane with a wingspan almost the size of a Boeing 747's took to the skies over the Mojave Desert last week in a secret test flight that may herald a new era in modern warfare with robotic planes flying higher, faster and with more firepower.
The massive Global Observer built by AeroVironment Inc. of Monrovia is capable of flying for days at a stratosphere-skimming 65,000 feet, out of range of most antiaircraft missiles. The plane is built to survey 280,000 square miles — an area larger than Afghanistan — at a single glance. That would give the Pentagon an "unblinking eye" over the war zone and offer a cheaper and more effective alternative to spy satellites watching from outer space.
The Little Plane That Could
December 07, 2010
As a war-fighting technology that fosters new doctrine, organizations, and requires specialized training, the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is arguably the military’s newest example of a Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA).
From the strategic level drone weapons platform to the tactical Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) collection platforms, the UAV has become a driving force of change in modern warfare. The UAV’s versatility and utility will likely become an icon of the Global War on Terror (GWOT) era and a RMA of a generation of unmanned war-fighting enablers.
OEF-Bound Soldiers Train On Raven
November 29, 2010
Raven is one of the smallest vehicles in the Army, but its value to commanders on the battlefield is disproportionate to its size.
Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center, Ind. - In May, the Army marked over one million flight hours on unmanned aerial systems. At Camp Atterbury, Soldiers are training now to operate the Raven UAS and will add to that Army milestone next year when they fly missions over Afghanistan.
Hybrid Hydrogen Power For A New Satellite Alternative
November 22, 2010
A new and promising "eye in the sky" inches closer to reality with successful testing of AeroVironment Inc.'s Global Observer high-altitude unmanned aircraft, designed to loiter above an area for up to a week at a time. On Oct. 26 the company said the 70-foot, propeller-driven aircraft, with a wingspan of 175 feet, had completed low-altitude airworthiness tests under battery power at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
Over the next six months, the plane's actual powerplant will be used in further flight-testing. It's a liquid-hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engine driving a generator that produces electricity to turn the four props. We do live in the age of hybrids, after all.
Warplanes: Is There Anything The Clever Raven Can’t Do
November 22, 2010
November 20, 2010: U.S. Army troops have developed new tactics for their lightweight, hand launched Raven UAV. While the Raven can only stay airborne about an hour per sortie, troops have found that this is enough time to do all sorts of useful work, even when there's no fighting going on. This is most of the time.
In Iraq and Afghanistan, the enemy does not want to confront U.S. troops directly (this tends to get you killed). So there is an unceasing effort to set up ambushes, plant mines and roadside bombs and fire rockets or mortars at American bases.
Aviation Week: Drone-Specific Technologies Emerge
October 29, 2010
An underlying theme of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) show, which took place here in August, is the advance of unmanned vehicle technology—i.e., the research, development, application and deployment of technologies specifically for unmanned systems, rather than the creation of unmanned systems based on existing airplane, ground or sea technology.
Flight Global: AeroVironment Offers US Army ‘Family’ Of Unmanned Systems
October 27, 2010
With the US Army shifting operations from Iraq to Afghanistan, the demand for small unmanned air vehicles is moving into higher gear as well.
The army plans to buy 3,000 Raven small UAVs - and already has 2,000 in hand - from California-based AeroVironment.
During the Association of the US Army exposition in Washington, DC, another $7.2 million order for the company's Puma air vehicle was announced, expanding an August deal with the US Special Operations Command worth $35.3 million. It also received a $4.4 million order last month for a digital-datalink equipped version of the close-range, hand-launched Puma, which weighs about 5.9kg (13lb).
NDIA - Afghan War Creating Unprecedented Demand for New Types of Unmanned Aircraft
October 26, 2010
Senior Army commanders in Afghanistan have requested hundreds of additional small unmanned aircraft to equip platoons and squads. They also have asked the Army to provide a wider range of UAV options to supplement the Raven aircraft that currently is being fielded to all brigades in Afghanistan.
The widely used Raven is a 4-pound hand-launched UAV that can fly for about 90 minutes. But for troops fighting in northern Afghanistan, the Raven has been a disappointment because it cannot operate in rugged terrain, said the manager of Army UAV programs.
Raven Goes Digital
October 19, 2010
U.S. Army close-combat operation in Iraq and Afghanistan have driven the demand for a variety of unmanned reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition (RSTA) assets to support combat operations.
DVIDS: US Naval Forces Commander Discusses Unique Capabilities of Puma AE UAS
September 29, 2010
Vice Adm. Mark Fox, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet, discusses the unique capabilities of the Puma AE mini-unmanned aerial vehicle with Senior Chief Tactical Air Controller Norman Diette, leading chief petty officer for Riverine Squadron 1. Fox is on his first visit to Iraq since taking command July 5.
AV Digital Data Link to be Demonstrated on other UAS
September 14, 2010
The Army plans a major showcase of manned and unmanned systems next fall to showcase its efforts to build interoperable manned and unmanned systems, a top service official said. "We're going to have the single largest demonstration ever conducted of manned and unmanned systems," said Tim Owings, deputy project manager, Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Army Program Executive Office for Aviation.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
AV’s Raven Featured on Fox News
April 15, 2010
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
