News & Articles

NASA's Ingenuity helicopter, which was carried to Mars by the Perseverance rover, is set for the first ever flight on the red planet. WSJ goes inside the company that partnered with NASA to design and build an aircraft for a completely different atmosphere from Earth.

View More

Could a drone that is used to scout for enemy activity on the battlefield also help count endangered seals in Alaska? What about relaying communications from a remote area to an emergency response center? For the past 50 years, our innovative engineers have been asking these type of questions to provide our customers with new ways of achieving their goals. The same features and capabilities AeroVironment's unmanned aircraft systems provide to troops on the front line could address a host of missions beyond the military. 

View More

• Portable, rugged Puma 3 All Environment (AE) unmanned aircraft system provides immediate tactical reconnaissance capabilities for land and maritime operations
• Four orders received encompass procurement of Puma 3 AE tactical unmanned aircraft systems and initial spares packages

SIMI VALLEY, Calif., April 6, 2021 – AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), today announced its receipt of four firm-fixed-price orders totaling $11,527,074 from the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) for Puma™ 3 AE tactical UAS and initial spares packages.  

View More

• Second of three contract options exercised under the sole source Flight Control Systems (FCS) domain of the Army’s multi-year Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems contract
• Total projected value of contract action is $55 million; $42 million now funded and awarded
• U.S. Army possesses largest fleet of Raven tactical unmanned aircraft systems in the world

SIMI VALLEY, Calif., March 25, 2021 – AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), today announced the United States Army exercised the second of three options under the sole source Flight Control Systems (FCS) domain of the Army’s multi-year small UAS contract on February 25, 2021. The value of the contract option is $20,979,905 and includes avionics and data link upgrade packages to modify radio frequencies employed by the Army’s existing fleet of Raven^® tactical UAS. The period of Performance ends June 30, 2022.

View More

• Certification represents third-party validation of company’s commitment to conducting business in an ethical, environmentally sensitive and proactive manner
• Complements the AS9100 Revision D (2016), Quality Management System the company has held since 2018
• AeroVironment’s battery-powered small unmanned aircraft and tactical missile systems emit no greenhouse gasses during operation

SIMI VALLEY, Calif., March 24, 2021 – AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), today announced the company has earned International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 certification for its Environmental Management System.

The international ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management standard provides an environmental management system framework for companies to help identify, monitor and control their environmental impact, such as resource consumption and waste production.  

View More

• Puma 3 All Environment (AE) unmanned aircraft system delivers immediate tactical intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance in maritime and land operations
• Customer joins growing number of allied government forces fielding AeroVironment’s advanced, battle-proven family of tactical unmanned aircraft systems
• Foreign Military Sales program promotes interoperability among U.S. and allied forces for joint operations

SIMI VALLEY, Calif., March 11, 2021 – AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), today announced it secured a $5,922,461 firm-fixed-price U.S. Department of Defense Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract award on December 22, 2020 to provide Puma™ 3 AE tactical UAS, training and support to a European allied nation. Delivery is anticipated by April 2021.

View More

The US Navy (USN) plans to acquire up to 120 AeroVironment Blackwing unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) for its submarines.

The first drone is expected to be delivered as early as August 2021, says the service in a sole source notice it posted online on 9 March. The last UAV is scheduled to be delivered by May 2023. The Blackwing can be launched into the air via a submerged submarine. The UAV is packed into a canister that is ejected from an underwater submarine, the canister then floats to the surface and shoots the Blackwing into the air.

In order to fit inside a canister, the small UAV has two pop-out wing sets. It has a wingspan of 68.6cm (27in) and is powered by an electric motor-driven pusher propeller. On its nose, the UAV carries electro-optical and infrared sensors. It also carries GPS and inertial navigation systems. Those sensors combined with a tactical data link allow the UAV to pass back targeting information to a submarine.

In order to fit inside a canister, the small UAV has two pop-out wing sets. It has a wingspan of 68.6cm (27in) and is powered by an electric motor-driven pusher propeller. On its nose, the UAV carries electro-optical and infrared sensors. It also carries GPS and inertial navigation systems. Those sensors combined with a tactical data link allow the UAV to pass back targeting information to a submarine.

The service has been experimenting with the Blackwing for several years. After several demonstrations in 2019 and 2020, initial operational capability for the Blackwing was declared in September, said Rear Admiral Dave Goggins, programme executive officer for submarines, reported Seapower magazine last November. The USN has demonstrated launching the Blackwing from the Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Annapolis, he said.

View More

AeroVironment has always been powered by great thinkers and doers, constantly experimenting with new ideas that help customers do more and offering innovative firsts and never-seen-before solutions. These innovators have learned over time that being at the forefront of technology can be both daunting and rewarding, and the adoption of transformative solutions can take time, but in the end, they come to life.

View More

• Competitive task order awarded for USSOCOM’s Mid-Endurance Unmanned Aircraft Systems (MEUAS) program
• Vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) JUMP 20 unmanned aircraft system delivers true versatility and multi-mission capabilities without launchers or runways to USSOCOM and other customers

SIMI VALLEY, Calif., March 9, 2021 – AeroVironment, Inc.(NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems, today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Arcturus UAV, now operating under the AeroVironment brand, was awarded a competitive task order valued at approximately $7 million from the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). The competitive task order is for a one-year period of performance, which started February 3, 2021.

USSOCOM selected Arcturus UAV as one of six companies qualified for the potential $975 million Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) MEUAS contract in June 2020. The contract enables awardees to compete for site-specific task orders and provide USSOCOM with unmanned aircraft systems services and support for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) operations. 

View More

• Transaction significantly accelerates AeroVironment’s artificial intelligence and autonomy initiatives with best-in-class computer vision and machine perception capabilities
• Increases AeroVironment’s customer-funded research and development revenue
• Broadens the scope of AeroVironment’s advanced robotic systems engineering services for defense and commercial customers

AeroVironment, Inc. accelerates artificial intelligence and autonomy initiatives with acquisition of Progeny Systems Corporation’s Intelligent Systems Group.

SIMI VALLEY, Calif., Feb. 24, 2021 – AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), today announced it has acquired Progeny Systems Corporation’s Intelligent Systems Group (ISG), a leader in the development of artificial intelligence-enabled computer vision, machine learning and perceptive autonomy technologies and provider of related services to United States government customers. The acquisition will significantly accelerate AeroVironment’s development of advanced autonomy capabilities for the company’s growing portfolio of intelligent, multi-domain robotic systems, increase customer-funded research and development revenue and broaden its advanced engineering services offering to defense and commercial customers. Under the terms of the transaction, AeroVironment acquired ISG for $30 million in cash and an earnout for Progeny Systems Corporation of up to $6 million over three years, based on the achievement of specific performance targets.

View More