• 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 …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AeroVironment receives US Army UAS spare parts orders

  2nd October 2014

  AeroVironment will provide the US Army with RQ-11B Raven and RQ-20A Puma AE UAS spare parts under orders worth a combined $27 million, announced on …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  USMC orders RQ-12 Wasp AE SUAS

  25th September 2014

  The US Marine Corps (USMC) has ordered additional AeroVironment RQ-12 Wasp AE small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) as part of a $22 million contract announced …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AeroVironment supports BP Exploration Alaska operations

  12th June 2014

  AeroVironment will provide a range of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) mapping and Geographic Information System (GIS) services to BP Exploration (Alaska) over a five-year period …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2014: North Dakota law enforcement researches SUAS use

  14th May 2014

  A project is underway in north east North Dakota to research the use of small UAS for law enforcement purposes, Alan Frazier, assistant professor for …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  MDA to support Canadian DND UAV solution

  22nd April 2014

  MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) has been awarded a CA$5 million contract by the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) to provide support for the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Lockheed Martin, AeroVironment team for international UAS market

  10th February 2014

  A newly signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) between AeroVironment and Lockheed Martin will see the companies join forces to explore new opportunities for unmanned aircraft …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  US to supply Iraq with additional UAVs

  10th January 2014

  The US has agreed to supply Iraqi security forces with small and tactical UAVs under a Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to assist in the fight …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Netherlands selects MQ-9 Reaper

  25th November 2013

  The Dutch ministry of defence plans to purchase the MQ-9 Reaper as its future medium altitude long endurance (MALE) UAV, it has emerged. After a …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AeroVironment awarded DARPA TERN contract

  5th November 2013

  AeroVironment will work with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop a medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) UAS designed to operate from small ships to …

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 - small

  Jump 20 [Italy]

  Background Contract Award On 21 April 2025, AeroVironment announced that it had been awarded a contract worth US$46.6 million from the Italian Ministry of Defence (MOD) to ...

• 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 began in 2024 due to the US European Command and Indo-Pacific Command's demand for UAVs that met the following requirements. As part ...

• 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, Military UAS - small

  Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) (Increment 1) [USA]

  Programme Background Programme Objective The Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) was to provide a tactical ISTAR capability for US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). It was ...

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 - 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 - small

  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 ...

• 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 - 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 ...

• 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 - small

  Puma AE (Family)

  The Puma All Environment (AE) is a family of small, fixed-wing UAVS manufactured by AeroVironment (AV). They are primarily designed for ISR missions and are ...

• 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 ...

• 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, ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

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

  Blackwing

  Manufactured by AeroVironment and based on the Switchblade loitering munition, the Blackwing is a tube-launched UAV designed to deliver rapid ISR capabilities through its EO/IR ...