News & Articles

• Total transaction value of $405 million in cash and stock
• Arcturus UAV’s complementary capabilities provide program diversification, increase key customer penetration and enhance shareholder value
• Arcturus UAV is well positioned for ongoing United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Mid-Endurance UAS (MEUAS) task orders, United States Army Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) program delivery orders and international contracts

• Expected to be immediately accretive to revenue growth, adjusted EBITDA margin and non-GAAP diluted EPS, excluding intangible assets, amortization expense and deal and integration costs, and accretive to GAAP diluted EPS by fiscal year 2022
• AeroVironment to host conference call and audio webcast at 2:00 pm Pacific Time today

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. Jan 13, 2021 – AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems, and Arcturus UAV, Inc., a privately-held leading provider of Group 2 and 3 unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and services, today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which AeroVironment will acquire Arcturus UAV for a total purchase price of $405 million, including $355 million in cash and $50 million in AeroVironment stock. The transaction, which was unanimously approved by the AeroVironment and Arcturus UAV Boards of Directors, is expected to accelerate AeroVironment’s strategy to drive profitable growth and value by expanding into attractive adjacent segments and by broadening its capabilities and customer footprint.

View More

AeroVironment's Huntsville office recently took action to participate in the company's IMPACT! Program by getting involved in several local activities.

AeroVironment donated $2500 to the 2020 Still Serving Veterans (SSV) Golf Tournament. The annual event took place Friday, Oct. 9, in Cullman, Ala. All proceeds went to support veterans.

View More

• Cost-effective optional antenna array kit designed to integrate seamlessly with AeroVironment’s standard RF head antenna
• Provides operators 100 percent greater controllable range over standard RF head antenna with minimal logistical footprint
• Add-on kit narrows antenna beam width, extending command and control range up to 40 km

SIMI VALLEY, Calif., Dec. 10, 2020 – AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), today announced the introduction of its Extended Range Antenna (ERA), the latest addition to AeroVironment’s growing line of network connectivity solutions. The ERA is a lightweight, portable antenna array kit designed to integrate seamlessly with AeroVironment’s standard RF head antenna to support a diverse range of missions.

View More

• Transaction will combine leaders in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) for broader, integrated mission solutions in air, near-space, ground and maritime domains
• AeroVironment’s strong partnership with the United States Department of Defense and presence in 50 allied nations, combined with Telerob’s 45 nation footprint and multi-industry customer base, create significant opportunities for growth and value creation
• AeroVironment and Telerob competing for multi-year United States Air Force Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) robotic system program and pursuing multiple additional opportunities
• Acquisition expected to be accretive within two years to AeroVironment GAAP EPS, and accretive to non-GAAP EPS in fiscal year 2022

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. - AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems, today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Telerob Gesellschaft für Fernhantierungstechnik mbH, a German leader in ground robotic solutions with a global footprint, for approximately $45.4 million (€37.5 million) in cash, and will pay-off approximately $9.4 million (€7.8 million) in Telerob’s debt at closing. Telerob’s shareholder has the potential to receive an additional earn-out over three years of up to approximately $7.3 million (€6 million) based upon achieving specific milestones.

View More

We recently saw the announcement of the Switchblade 600 by AeroVironment, one of the global leaders in military rapidly deployable unmanned aerial vehicle platforms. With technology rapidly evolving, offering frontline forces the latest in situational awareness, we spoke with Steve Gitlin, CMO at AeroVironment just how far these deployable systems have come and how militaries can have access to not only situational awareness in real time, but with lethality options to neutralize and win engagement in the battlefield.

View More

Imagine a frontline defense that could neutralize your enemy within seconds and save your life and the lives of those around you. The movie "The Hurt Locker" features a scene in which the protagonists are pinned down overnight by a single sniper. Every time a member of their group peeks over the embankment to fix the location of the sniper, they are shot. Now, imagine if the team possessed a tube-launched air vehicle that they could launch at will and use to find, fix and neutralize the sniper without placing anyone in harm's way. That "imaginary" frontline defense solution is real, and it's called Switchblade.

View More

HAPSMobile Inc., a SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) subsidiary launched in 2017 with the mission of bridging the digital divide, marked two major milestones on September 21, 2020. First, the solar-powered, unmanned aircraft “Sunglider” took flight in the stratosphere for the first time. Second, Sunglider also successfully delivered an LTE connection from the stratosphere during the flight, marking a world first for a fixed-wing High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) autonomous aircraft.

With a communications payload under its wing, Sunglider functions like a base station floating in the sky. Circling the stratosphere above the earth, it transmits radio waves down to mobile phones on the ground. This means it can reach areas where it is difficult to build infrastructure, including remote areas and developing countries. Since it flies in the stratosphere and is therefore unaffected by weather on the ground, Sunglider can also deliver connectivity when disasters strike.

While the concept may seem far out--in fact, HAPSMobile President & CEO Junichi Miyakawa was originally inspired by the Japanese fantasy anime classic “Castle in the Sky” before launching the business--HAPSMobile’s landmark flight and communication tests have shown that it is making great progress on its mission to connect the unconnected, which now accounts for roughly half of the world’s population.

View More

CARLSBAD, Calif. and SIMI VALLEY, Calif., Oct. 15, 2020 -- Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), a global communications company, and AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), today announced they will collaborate on a contract awarded under the U.S. Army Reconfigurable Communications for Small Unmanned Systems (RCSUS) initiative. The project will provide U.S. military customers flying small UAS platforms the ability to deploy a robust, on-demand, highly-secure communications network that will address the growing electronic warfare capabilities of peer and near-peer adversaries.

Viasat is the prime contractor on the award and will work with AeroVironment to develop and demonstrate advanced, encrypted communications suitable for AeroVironment’s portable, hand-launched Puma AE™ tactical UAS. The two companies will seek to strengthen the communications and transmission security of AeroVironment’s Digital Data Link™ (DDL) radios currently used by the U.S. Army by converting them into a Type 1 crypto communication system for video and data transmission. 

View More