News & Articles

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

• The company voluntarily reported issues from the period June 5, 2014 to December 22, 2016
• U.S. Department of State cites the company’s efforts to improve compliance and finds no cause for debarment

SIMI VALLEY, Calif., Nov 21, 2019AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV), a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), today announced it has reached a settlement with the United States Department of State for alleged export violations the company reported voluntarily for the period June 5, 2014 to December 22, 2016.AeroVironment has agreed to pay $1,000,000 over a two-year period, $500,000 of which is suspended and can be credited against investments already made or to be made to enhance export controls. AeroVironment will also hire an outside Special Compliance Officer (SCO) for a term of one year and conduct an external audit to assess and improve its compliance program during the Consent Agreement term.

• Contract includes support, spares and repair services for existing fleet of Puma and Raven tactical unmanned aircraft systems
• More than 45 allied governments deploy systems from AeroVironment’s innovative family of tactical UAS

SIMI VALLEY, Calif., Nov. 14, 2019 – AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV), a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), today announced a major Middle Eastern ally awarded the company a firm fixed-price contract valued at $11,999,992 on October 25, 2019 for logistics support, spares, and repair services in support of its existing fleet of AeroVironment’s Puma™ AE and Raven® B tactical UAS. The contract award period of performance is two years.

• Potential contract options total as much as $55 million; initial base delivery order is $862,488
• Hand-launched AeroVironment Raven is the most widely used military unmanned aircraft system in the world

SIMI VALLEY, Calif., Nov. 13, 2019 – AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV), a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for both defense and commercial applications, announced the U.S. Army awarded the company a firm-fixed-price contract on June 6, 2019 to begin radio frequency modifications on its currently deployed Raven® UAS. The initial base delivery order is $862,488, with potential contract options valued up to $55 million.

HAPSMobile Inc. (“HAPSMobile”), a subsidiary of SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) and minority-owned by AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), today announced the second successful test flight of the HAWK30 solar-powered high-altitude platform system (HAPS) that took place on October 23, 2019 (PT) at the NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center in California.

• New order expands customer’s fleet of Raven systems
• Raven is the most widely used military unmanned aircraft system in the world
• AeroVironment’s Family of Tactical UAS are deployed by more than 45 allied governments

SIMI VALLEY, Calif., Nov. 4, 2019 – AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV), a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), today announced it received a firm fixed-price contract valued at $6,408,542 from an existing Southeast Asian military customer on September 17, 2019 for additional Raven® unmanned aircraft systems. Delivery is anticipated within 12 months.