News & Articles

We first told you about the tiny helicopter Ingenuity and the one-ton rover Perseverance nearly a year ago before they left Earth, but they've come a very long way since then. In February, they landed in a hazardous and previously unexplored part of Mars called the Jezero Crater, where Perseverance will be looking for signs of ancient life. Last month, Ingenuity disconnected from Perseverance's belly and made history -- performing the first flights ever in the atmosphere of another planet. It's hard to imagine but worth remembering as you watch what we're about to show you, that this all happened millions of miles away, in outer space.

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When it comes to flying high, AeroVironment has led the way in sustained solar-powered, high-altitude flight with projects dating back more than 40 years. Building on its pioneering innovations — Gossamer Condor, Solar Challenger, Pathfinder Plus, and Helios — AeroVironment advanced these earlier technologies to develop a solar-powered, high-altitude platform station (HAPS) named Sunglider™.

“These earlier innovations made significant contributions to the current HAPS aircraft,” said Bob Curtin, HAPS business development director. “I think it’s reasonable to say that the development of today’s HAPS aircraft started with the Gossamer Condor in 1977.”

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As of Friday, April 30 (local time), the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter had completed its fourth successful flight, exceeding expectations and moving from being a technical to an operational demonstrator. 

In Part One of “Inside Ingenuity with AeroVironment—Designing It,” key personnel from the company talked about designing and developing Ingenuity’s airframe and some of its major subsystems, including its rotor blades and hub and control mechanism hardware. They also discussed how AeroVironment worked with JPL, Lockheed Martin and others to integrate its work into a vehicle capable of reaching and operating on Mars.

Now, in Part Two—”Challenges Overcome”—the engineering team recalls surmounting obstacles so Ingenuity and its 4-foot rotor blades could master the ultra-thin atmosphere of the red planet.

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• Transaction combines leaders in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) for broader, integrated mission solutions in air, near-space, ground and maritime domains
• Acquisition expected to be accretive within two years to AeroVironment GAAP EPS, and accretive to non-GAAP EPS in fiscal year 2022
• AeroVironment competing for multi-year United States Air Force Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) robotic system program

SIMI VALLEY, Calif., May 4, 2021 – AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in intelligent, multi-domain robotic systems, today announced it was granted clearance from the German government and completed the previously announced acquisition of Telerob Gesellschaft für Fernhantierungstechnik mbH (Telerob), in a $45.4 million (€37.5 million) cash transaction and the pay-off of approximately $9.4 million (€7.8 million) in Telerob’s debt at closing. Telerob now operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of AeroVironment.

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April 19^th saw what some have christened “a second Wright Brothers moment”—namely, the successful first powered controlled flight by an aircraft on another world. Reaching Mars on the underside of the Perseverance rover, the tiny, autonomous Mars Ingenuity Helicopter (5.4’ x 7.7’ x 6.4”) spun its 4-foot rotors and hovered 10 feet off the ground for 30 seconds.

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• Switchblade 600 features high-precision optics, more than 40 minutes of loitering endurance and an anti-armor warhead for engaging and prosecuting hardened static and moving light armored vehicles
• Integration of Switchblade 600 into maritime platforms enables precision engagements against naval and littoral threats and greater deployment flexibility

SIMI VALLEY, Calif., April 27, 2021 – AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), today announced it was awarded a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract on March 31, 2021 by the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) for $26,120,810 with $7,159,036 funded upon receipt. The contract includes delivery and integration of Switchblade® 600 tactical missile systems into specialized maritime platforms, scheduled to be completed by January 2023.

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• Award for contractor logistics support approved through Joint Urgent Operational Needs Statement, reflecting high priority requirement and strong user demand from the frontline
• Funded value for contractor logistics support is $13,010,560 with a total potential contract value of $40,852,467

SIMI VALLEY, Calif., April 22, 2021 – AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), today announced it received a $13,010,560 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract order on March 24, 2021 from the U.S. Army for Switchblade® 300 tactical missile systems contractor logistics support. The contract has a total potential value of $40,852,467, for which funding was authorized via a DoD-approved Joint Urgent Operational Need Statement. Logistics support services are scheduled to be delivered through March 2024.

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SIMI VALLEY, Calif., April 20, 2021 – AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), celebrated with its colleagues at NASA/JPL when data confirming the Ingenuity Helicopter’s successful first flight on Mars arrived at approximately 3:50 a.m. PT on April 19.

“AeroVironment is proud to have played a key role in developing the Mars Ingenuity Helicopter and achieving today’s historic first powered flight on another planet,” said Wahid Nawabi, AeroVironment president and chief executive officer. “We congratulate JPL and NASA on today’s achievement and salute their leadership and vision for deploying unmanned technology to further our understanding of other worlds.”

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• Combat proven Switchblade 300 with patented “wave-off” feature and recommit ability provides operators with increased lethality, reach and precision strike capabilities with low collateral effects
• Contract option includes first approved export to an allied nation, extending Switchblade’s unique capabilities to friendly forces and promoting interoperability for joint operations

SIMI VALLEY, Calif., April 20, 2021 – AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), today announced the U.S. Army has exercised an option on its Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile Systems (LMAMS) contract for additional Switchblade® 300 tactical missile systems for the Army and for export to an allied nation. The $44,961,751 contract option increases the total value of the contract to $122,523,677. Delivery will take place over a two-year period.

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