• 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 …

• Land Warfare

  US Army orders Mantis i23 gimbaled sensor payloads

  2nd October 2013

  The US Army has ordered Mantis i23 gimbaled sensor payloads from AeroVironment for its fleet of RQ-11B Raven unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The contract, worth …

• Land Warfare

  AeroVironment details additional Switchblade orders

  10th September 2013

  The US Army has placed orders for the AeroVironment Switchblade tactical missile system, ancillary equipment and support, worth a total of $36.7 million. The orders …

• Land Warfare

  AeroVironment wins US Army Switchblade award

  28th August 2013

  AeroVironment has received new orders that will see it supply the Switchblade tactical missile systems, ancillary equipment and support to the US Army. The five …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2013: Puma AE completes maiden solar flight

  16th August 2013

  AeroVironment’s Puma AE has completed a nine hour flight using solar power, tripling the UAV’s existing endurance, company officials have stated. Solar panels, manufactured by …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  FAA grants Puma UAV commercial use certificate

  29th July 2013

  The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted the AeroVironment Puma AE small unmanned aircraft system (SUAS) a Restricted Category rating, clearing the way for …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  ‘Digital’ Scan Eagle conducts first mission in Dutch service

  27th June 2013

  The Royal Netherlands Army has conducted its first official mission with the digital Insitu Scan Eagle UAS at Deelen military airport near Arnhem.  The mission …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AeroVironment announces new Raven SUAS order

  10th April 2013

  AeroVironment will supply additional RQ-11B Raven small unmanned aerial systems (SUAS) and new miniature gimbaled payloads to the US Army under a new order announced …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AeroVironment announces new Wasp AE order

  24th January 2013

  AeroVironment will supply its Wasp AE small unmanned aircraft system (SUAS) to support an as yet unspecified US Marine Corps requirement under a contract announced …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AeroVironment, CybAero enter into strategic relationship

  3rd December 2012

  AeroVironment has announced that it has entered into a strategic relationship with Sweden-based CybAero to develop and distribute a Tier II vertical takeoff and landing …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AeroVironment Wasp AE to be fitted with secure GPS capability

  19th September 2012

  Rockwell Collins has been selected by AeroVironment to provide its MicroGRAM GPS receiver for the Wasp AE small unmanned aircraft system (SUAS), bringing secure, jam-resistant …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AeroVironment receives additional US Army RQ-11B Raven funding

  6th September 2012

  AeroVironment has received additional $16,472,298 in funding from the US Army to deliver RQ-11B Raven UAV systems, payloads and spares under a contract dated 10 …

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 Contract On 27 January 2022, the US DoD announced AeroVironment had been awarded an $8.54 million firm-fixed-price contract for an unknown quantity ...

• Military UAS - small

  Jump 20 (MQ-31A) [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 ...

• Loitering munitions

  Lethal Unmanned Systems (LUS): Switchblade [US]

  Background DoD Contract On 27 August 2024, the US DoD announced that AeroVironment had been awarded a ceiling $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) [US Army]

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

• UAS: communication systems

  UAS: communication systems | Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) services [USN]

  In April 2026, AeroVironment (AV) and Shield AI announced that they had been selected to compete for a US$800 million task order to provide Contractor-Owned, ...

• UAS: flight control systems

  UAS: flight control systems | Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) services [USN]

  In April 2026, AeroVironment (AV) and Shield AI announced that they had been selected to compete for a US$800 million task order to provide Contractor-Owned, ...

• 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 (Second order) [Greece]

  Background First order As part of its 10-year purchasing plan, Greece acquired the Switchblade 300 and Switchblade 600 from AeroVironment in 2024. According to reports, ...

• Loitering munitions

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

  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 update ...

• 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 ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• 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 - 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 - small

  P550

  Designed by AeroVironment, the P550 is a fixed-wing UAV that can host reconnaissance, EW or offensive payloads. In an April 2024 statement, AeroVironment stated that ...

• Military UAS - mini

  Puma AE (Family)

  The Puma All Environment (AE) is a popular family of small, fixed-wing UAVS manufactured by AeroVironment (AV). The original Puma AE was superseded on the production ...

• 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 - rotary-wing, Military UAS - small

  VAPOR 55

  The VAPOR 55 is an all-electric rotary-wing small UAV. Pulse Aerospace initially manufactured it before AeroVironment purchased the company in 2019.  Powered by a high-energy-density lithium-polymer battery, ...

• 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, ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...