AeroVironment awarded TERN Phase II contract
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 October.
The contract will see AeroVironment prepare a preliminary design for TERN, concluding with subscale flight demonstrations prior to a planned phase III award decision.
The TERN programme is a DARPA and US Office of Naval Research programme that aims to develop next-generation, mid-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft system (UAS) that are capable of using smaller ships as mobile launch and recovery sites. The goal is to allow the US Navy and Marine Corps to more quickly and cost-effectively deploy persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and strike capabilities almost anywhere in the world.
Roy Minson, senior vice president and general manager of UAS business, AeroVironment, said: ‘Our team represents the best combination of relevant expertise and technology leadership to make TERN a reality.
‘Our innovative approach to achieving DARPA's objectives for TERN holds the promise of an entirely new category of UAS that could operate more quickly and effectively by deploying from smaller naval vessels for longer, more distant missions. We look forward to demonstrating this new capability to help protect our naval forces and those of our allies affordably and effectively.’
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