News & Articles

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. and RALEIGH, N.C., March 17, 2020 – AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), and Draganfly (CSE: DFLY) (OTCQB: DFLYF) (FSE: 3U8), an award-winning, industry-leading manufacturer within the commercial unmanned aerial systems (“UAS”), remotely piloted aircraft systems (“RPAS”), and unmanned vehicle sectors, today announced a teaming agreement for Draganfly’s distribution of AeroVironment’s Quantix Mapper systems to commercial markets worldwide. The agreement also includes the continuation of other contract engineering services provided by Draganfly to AeroVironment.

AeroVironment makes an impact on local schools through its Corporate Social Responsibility Program

As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility Program, AeroVironment continued its commitment to making an impact in the community in 2019 by earmarking money for the Simi Valley Education Foundation's (SVEF) annual Enhancements Grant Program. AeroVironment chose to fund grants specifically for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)-related projects throughout the Simi Valley Unified School District. Money was awarded based on grant requests written by teachers for enhancement of education in their classrooms. Distributed funds were presented in person at each school for immediate use.

• Puma 3 All Environment (AE) unmanned aircraft system delivers immediate tactical ISR in maritime and land based operations
• More than 45 allied governments have procured one or more of AeroVironment’s family of tactical unmanned aircraft systems (UAS)

SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--at the Singapore Air Show - AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), today announced it received a $8,584,734 firm-fixed-price U.S. Department of Defense Foreign Military Sales contract. The contract was awarded on December 17, 2019 to provide Puma™ 3 AE unmanned aircraft systems, training and support to an allied nation. Delivery is anticipated by June 2020.

“Customers in the United States and around the world deploy AeroVironment’s rugged family of tactical unmanned aircraft systems, including Puma, to provide their forces the actionable intelligence they need to proceed with certainty in a broad range of operating environments,” said Rick Pedigo, vice president of sales and business development for AeroVironment. “We designed our combat-proven unmanned aircraft systems to be easy to use, reliable and to provide the operational flexibility frontline forces need to succeed in the most demanding conditions.”

Alphabet-owned Loon, the company that had been focused on delivering internet communications to remote areas via stratospheric balloons, has completed development work on a new payload for partner HAPSMobile, a subsidiary of SoftBank that’s building high-altitude solar-powered uncrewed aircraft. The two companies jointly adapted the communications technology that enables Loon’s balloons to beam communications networks to Earth for use on HAPSMobile's drones, effectively turning them into high-flying mobile cell towers.

This is the result of a strategic partnership that the two companies announced back in April of last year, but an important step because it means that Loon’s technology will get its first functional tests on vehicles other than its balloon-based platform. The HAWK30 aircraft that HAPSMobile developed is a solar-powered electric aircraft that flies at speeds of over 100 km/h (around 60 mph) in the stratosphere (with an operating altitude of around 65,000 feet), which is much faster than Loon’s balloons, which meant adapting the payload to perform at these speeds.

AeroVironment's Puma AE Makes Historical Debut to Assist with Navigation through Icy Waters

Puma AE made history in 2016! Never before had an unmanned aircraft system been used by the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star for its annual Deep Freeze mission to Antarctica's McMurdo Sound. Every year, this heavy icebreaker travels to the Sound to open up the shipping lanes needed to resupply the National Science Foundation's McMurdo Station and other facilities on Ross Island.

SIMI VALLEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jan. 23, 2020– AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV), a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), today announced the appointment of Kevin McDonnell as senior vice president and chief financial officer, effective February 10, 2020.

"We welcome Kevin McDonnell to the AeroVironment team as senior vice president and CFO,” said Wahid Nawabi, AeroVironment president and chief executive officer. “Kevin’s extensive leadership and CFO experience across diverse industries give him unique insights and perspectives that will support AeroVironment’s continued growth and success. Generating value for shareholders remains our top priority, and we look forward to working closely with Kevin to deliver on this objective.”

“I am excited to join AeroVironment at this exciting time in the company’s history,” said Mr. McDonnell. “The AeroVironment team has generated significant value for its shareholders, with a demonstrated track record of strong, profitable growth. I look forward to working with Wahid and the rest of the leadership team to enhance the company's financial and operational performance."

Brian Shackley, who served as interim chief financial officer during this extensive search, will remain vice president and controller. Mr. Nawabi continued, “We thank Brian for taking on the additional role of interim CFO throughout the search process, and look forward to continuing to benefit from his expertise and leadership as a key member of our team.”

About Kevin McDonnell

Prior to joining AeroVironment, Mr. McDonnell served as chief financial officer of JAMS, Inc., which provides alternative dispute resolution services. During his tenure at JAMS, Mr. McDonnell helped the company nearly double its revenue and more than double its EBITDA. Mr. McDonnell brings more than 30 years of experience in financial, IT and HR leadership roles, including serving as chief financial officer for companies in the technology, automotive and health industries. Most notably, Mr. McDonnell held various senior financial roles at Teradata Corporation during its high-growth phase, where the company grew from $3 million to $300 million in revenue and expanded globally into Europe and Asia. Mr. McDonnell also served as CFO of Digital Insight, where he was instrumental in significantly growing its annual revenue, taking the company public and leading three acquisitions.

Mr. McDonnell earned his J.D. at Loyola Law School and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from Loyola Marymount University.

How the National Park Service Acquired Actionable Data Using Quantix UAS

It's been over a year since the devastating Woolsey Fire burned more than 96,000 acres across Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. The fire destroyed 88% of National Park Service land within the Santa Monica Mountains Recreation Area and set in motion a need for an environmental impact study to assess fire damage in key areas of the park. The National Park Service reached out to AeroVironment for assistance, and the flight operation's team began flying Quantix as soon as the park service clearance was obtained.

AeroVironment Team Supported Hurricane Dorian Aid Efforts 

"The Damage was unimaginable." said AeroVironment Flight Operations Manager Eric Thompson as he surveilled the destruction from Hurrican Dorian on Abaco - a small group of islands in the northern Bahamas. "When we arrived, we could see that the hurricane had destroyed everything in its path."

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has set out to find ways to build artificial intelligence (AI) systems that are as efficient at computing and processing as the brain of small flying insects. DARPA wants to explore cutting-edge technology that involves the study of insect brains and their ability to react to the world around them with minimal computation.

AeroVironment – A History of Innovation

“Innovation is embedded into AeroVironment’s DNA and drives everything we do – from expanding the capabilities of small unmanned aircraft systems to creating new technology solutions that provide increased force protection across multiple domains. When the stakes are highest, customers trust AeroVironment’s UAS solutions to provide the actionable intelligence they need to proceed with certainty.” 

WAHID NAWABI, PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, AEROVIRONMENT