• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Puma AE heads for Antarctica

  3rd February 2016

  AeroVironment and a team from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have been contracted to provide the US Coast Guard ice breaker Polar Star …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Saab to deliver UAV to Swedish Police

  18th January 2016

  The Swedish Police has awarded a contract to Saab for the delivery of three UAV systems, it was announced on 13 January.  The system selected …

• Training

  Aegis Technologies to enrich Vampire

  30th December 2015

  Aegis Technologies has been contracted to work on a programme for the Spanish Ministry of Defense being delivered under an AeroVironment-US Army UAS Foreign Military …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Northrop confirmed for DARPA UAV project

  30th December 2015

  Northrop Grumman has been selected to develop a working demonstrator for DARPA’s Tactically Exploited Reconnaissance Node (TERN) programme, it was revealed in a statement issued …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  USMC orders Puma AE UAS

  26th November 2015

  AeroVironment will supply RQ-20A Puma AE unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to the US Marine Corps as part of a $13 million order announced on 25 November. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Catching some rays

  12th November 2015

  Alta Devices, manufacturer of the AnyLight solar technology, is preparing to ramp up production in its US factory to meet an expected demand in a …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AeroVironment books FMS order

  14th October 2015

  AeroVironment will supply RQ-11B Raven UAS to seven unnamed international customers under an $18.5 million foreign military sales contract awarded by the US Army. The …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AeroVironment sustainment orders grow

  25th August 2015

  AeroVironment has announced that it has received ten orders from the US Army since May for RQ-20A Puma AE and RQ-11B Raven unmanned aircraft system …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Spain to get RQ-11B Ravens

  21st August 2015

  The US Army has awarded a $3.4 million foreign military sales contract to AeroVironment to supply RQ-11B Raven unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for the Spanish …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  ADF begins Wasp UAV training exercises

  19th June 2015

  The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has begun training exercises with the AeroVironment RQ-12 Wasp unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) as part of an army soldier modernisation …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  DARPA awards Tern Phase 2 contracts

  26th March 2015

  The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded prime contracts for Phase 2 of its Tern joint programme with the US Navy's Office of …

• Defence Notes

  US-India tech cooperation slows

  3rd March 2015

  The US-India Defense Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI) appears to be at a standstill. Three unsigned agreements remain to be signed before the four Pathfinder …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Aero India: The Eagle has landed

  19th February 2015

  Closer US-India military cooperation in the UAV field kicked up a gear when AeroVironment and Bangalore-based Dynamatic Technologies inaugurated a production facility on 17 February.  The …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  US and India to co-produce Raven B

  2nd February 2015

  The hand-launched Raven B is to be co-developed and co-produced by US-based AeroVironment and Bangalore-based Dynamatic Technologies after President Barack Obama extended the Defense Trade …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AeroVironment awarded TERN Phase II contract

  9th October 2014

  AeroVironment has been awarded a $19 million phase II contract by DARPA for the Tactically Exploited Reconnaissance Node (TERN) programme, the company announced on 8 …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Quantix Recon (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background April Meeting In mid-April, just shy of two months after Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, the Ambassador and the Defence Attaché at the Embassy of Ukraine met ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Puma 3 AE (Uzbekistan)

  Programme Background Original FMS ContractOn 27 January 2022, the US DoD announced AeroVironment had been awarded an $8.54 million firm-fixed-price contract for an unknown quantity of ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lethal Unmanned Systems (LUS) [US Army]

  Programme Background DoD Contract On 27 August 2024, the US DoD announced that AeroVironment had been awarded a $990 million hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract to provide "an ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Blackwing (Second Batch) [USA]

  Programme BackgroundFirst Batch The Blackwing originated from a 2013 initiative to develop a low-cost submarine-launched UAS for the US Navy. Following successful tests with the ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Blackwing (First Batch) [USA]

  Programme Background AeroVironment developed the Blackwing system as part of a 2013 US Navy and US Pacific Command (PACOM) sponsored Joint Capabilities Technology Demonstration (JCTD) ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile System (LMAMS) (Contracted) [US Army]

  Programme Background First Contract In June 2011, the US awarded AeroVironment a $4.9 series-production contract for the loitering munition, satisfying the US Army's Lethal Miniature ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Puma 2 AE (Estonia)

  Programme Background The US DoD announced that it had awarded AeroVironment an $8.868 million firm-fixed-price contract to supply an undisclosed number of RQ-20B Puma AE ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Vector / Scorpion [Netherlands]

  Programme Background AeroVironment RQ-11 Raven B The Royal Netherlands Army (RNLA) operates approximately 75 AeroVironment RQ-11 Raven B mini UAVs in the tactical ISTAR role, ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 300 [France]

  Programme Background Plans to Purchase At Eurosatory 2022, Col. Arnaud Goujon, the French Army's chief of plans, told the media that the French Army was ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 600 [USSOCOM]

  Programme Background Contract One AeroVironment confirmed in an April 2021 statement that it had been awarded a $26 million contract from the United States Special Operations ...

• Loitering munitions

  Artemis [US]

  Background Origin Artemis was begun in 2024 due to the demand from the US European Command and Indo-Pacific Command for UAVs that met the below requirements. ...

• Loitering munitions

  Organic Precision Fire - Light (OPF-L) [USMC]

  Programme Background Force Design 2030 The USMC Force Design 2030 is a modernisation effort to create a lighter, more agile maritime force. In May 2022, an annual ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 600 (Ukraine Aid) [US]

  Programme Background $300 Million USAI (1 April 2022) On 1 April 2022, the US DoD announced a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine following ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Switchblade 300 (USA)

  Programme Background AeroVironment has been providing the Switchblade 300 loitering munition to the US Army under the long-standing Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile Systems (LMAMS) programme ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  Switchblade 300 (UK)

  Programme Background ContextAeroVironment has been providing the Switchblade 300 loitering munition to the US Army under the long-standing Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile Systems (LMAMS) programme ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  P550

  Designed by AeroVironment, the P550 is a fixed-wing UAV that can host reconnaissance, EW or offensive payloads. It was developed with Parry Labs and features Modular Open Systems ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Puma 2 AE

  The Puma 2 All Environment (AE), or RQ-20B in US nomenclature, is the second generation of AeroVironment's small UAS. The Puma 2 AE is sometimes called ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - small

  VAPOR 55 MX

  AeroVironment's VAPOR 55 MX is an all-electric rotary-wing small UAV. It features a modular architecture that users can configure to support various mission requirements.  For example, ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Quantix Recon

  Quantix Recon is a fully autonomous reconnaissance and mapping UAS manufactured by AeroVironment. These capabilities are provided by the platform's 18MP RGB and Militpsectral camera, which ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  Global Observer

  The AeroVironment Global Observer HALE UAV was a developmental HALE UAV designed for various civil, commercial and government applications.  Development of the platform began in 2007 ...

• EO/IR systems

  Mantis i45

  The Mantis i45 is a compact EO/IR system from AeroVironment. It features a 15MP colour day sensor, a VGA resolution LWIR sensor and a class 3B laser ...

• EO/IR systems

  Mantis i23

  AeroVironment's Mantis i23 EO/IR payload is designed to conduct ISR from the Raven UAV. The system features a laser illuminator in addition to its 5MP daylight ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Jump 20

  The Jump 20 is a VTOL-capable variant of the T-20 platform manufactured by Arcturus UAV, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AeroVironment. The platform has an open ...

• Launchers

  Multipack Launcher (MPL)

  AeroVironment’s Multi Pack Launcher (MPL) is an all-weather remotely operated autonomous launch battery for standard Switchblade and Blackwing systems. The six-round capacity MPL can also be ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

  Puma LE

  The Puma Long Endurance (LE) is a mini UAS manufactured by AeroVironment. The UAS has AeroVironment’s Mantis i45 gimbaled payload featuring EO/IR cameras and an NVG-visible ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Puma 3 AE

  The Puma 3 All Environment (AE), or RQ-20 in US nomenclature, is the third generation of AeroVironment's small UAS.  The UAS is designed for reconnaissance and ...

• EO/IR systems

  Mantis i45 N

  The Mantis i45 N is a dual-axis, gyro-stabilised, multi-sensor nighttime imaging payload system designed for ISR operations.  Manufactured by AeroVironment, it features dual LWIR sensors, ...

• Loitering munitions

  Switchblade 300

  The Switchblade 300 is a man-portable, tube-launched loitering munition manufactured by AeroVironment. The platform is rapidly deployable by one operator from either a self-contained ground launcher ...

• EO/IR systems

  Mantis i23 D

  Unveiled in 2022, the Mantis i23 D is a compact daytime imaging payload for ISR missions. It features a dual 18MP EO sensor, a 24x ...

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Snipe Nano

  The Snipe Nano was a micro rotary-wing UAV developed by AeroVironment. Designed to give dismounted troops an immediate "over the wall, down the alley [and] around the hill" ISR ...