AeroVironment receives $8.4m Raven order

AeroVironment, Inc. today announced that it received a firm-fixed-price contract order valued at $8,373,995 under a follow-on contract with the US Army. The order comprises new digital Raven small unmanned aircraft systems (SUAS) and initial spares packages.

A November 2010 article from the US Department of Defense website "Armed with Science" describes how the Army's Second Heavy Brigade Combat Team (2HBCT), "The Spartan Brigade," employed the Raven system to reduce enemy attacks on US forces. "...The Raven SUAV (small unmanned aerial vehicle) is an invaluable combat tested and proven asset to small unit combat operations."

The Raven unmanned aircraft is a 4.2-pound, backpackable, hand-launched sensor platform that provides day and night, real-time video imagery for "over the hill" and "around the corner" reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition in support of tactical units. US armed forces use Raven systems extensively for missions such as base security, route reconnaissance, mission planning and force protection. Each Raven system typically consists of three aircraft, two ground control stations and spares.

Raven, Wasp and Puma comprise AeroVironment's Family of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Operating with a common ground control system (GCS), this Family of Systems provides increased capability to the warfighter that will give ground commanders the option of selecting the appropriate aircraft based on the type of mission to be performed. This increased capability has the potential to significantly enhance force protection and force multiplication for small tactical units. AeroVironment's UAS logistics operation supports systems deployed worldwide to ensure a consistently high level of operational readiness. AeroVironment has delivered thousands of new and replacement small unmanned air vehicles to date. International purchasers of AeroVironment's small UAS include the armed forces of Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, France, Norway, the Czech Republic, Thailand and Australia.

Source: AeroVironment