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Air Warfare
January Drone Digest: MALE, rotary-wing and loitering munition UAVs dominate early 2026
27th January 2026
The first month of 2026 has seen activity in the MALE, rotary-wing, and loitering munition UAV markets, with significant investments and commitments from Germany, Turkey, the UAE and the US. At the same time, questions over loitering munition performance in Ukraine highlight the growing scrutiny alongside rising demand.
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Air Warfare
IDEX 2025: Jump 20-X marks the spot for AeroVironment
19th February 2025
AeroVironment showcased the Jump 20-X, an advancement of the company’s Jump 20 VTOL-capable fixed-wing UAV, at this year’s IDEX in Abu Dhabi.
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Land Warfare
Kyiv works to replicate unmanned air success with ground vehicles
8th August 2025
The conflict in Ukraine has seen the country’s defence firms emerge as technological innovators in response to the Russian invasion of the country in 2022. The drone war in the air has been a significant development while the efforts on the ground have been less acknowledged.
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Air Warfare
US Army cancels FTUAS and the MQ-1 Gray Eagle as part of the Army Transformation Initiative
13th May 2025
Last week, it was revealed that the US Army intended to cancel the long-running Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS). The revelation, no doubt part of the Army Transformation Initiative (ATI), came a week after the force highlighted that it would cancel the procurement of Gray Eagle aircraft.
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Air Warfare
DIU awards four companies with drone prototype contracts for Project Artemis
18th March 2025
The four US companies awarded contracts include two that are working with Ukrainian uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) firms. The project aims to have a prototype demonstration by end of May 2025.
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Air Warfare
Trump’s drone directives win US industry support but questions remain over ability to challenge Chinese market dominance
12th June 2025
New presidential directives for UAV production are intended to remove bureaucratic barriers and support suppliers.
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Naval Warfare
US Navy seeks the best combinations of crewed vessels with commercial UAVs and USVs
5th February 2025
The service will conduct Operation Southern Spear to identify the most appropriate manned/unmanned formations for domain awareness and counternarcotics operations.
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Land Warfare
Lithuania orders L3Harris manpack radios and AeroVironment small drones
7th January 2025
In the medium-term Lithuania has committed US$1.3 billion which includes Javelin ant-tank missiles, Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTVs), Black Hawk helicopters, missile systems and missiles.
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Air Warfare
Galvion delivers charging stations to AeroVironment and begins follow-up order
7th November 2024
Galvion’s Nerv Centr MAX-8 is a portable charging solution built for expeditionary operations and can be used across AeroVironment’s small Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (sUAS).
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Uncrewed Vehicles
AeroVironment to display eVTOL P550 at AUSA 2024
4th October 2024
AeroVironment’s portfolio will grow thanks to the eVTOL P550 aimed at battalion-level tactical forces.
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Land Warfare
AeroVironment wins $990 million stand-off contract with the US DoD
29th August 2024
While few details have been released, the contract will likely be for a system similar to the existing Switchblade UAS.
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Uncrewed Vehicles
FTUAS competitor trials were “very successful”, says US Army official
1st October 2024
Prototypes from Griffon Aerospace and Textron Systems recently passed through MOSA conformance trials and flight tests.
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Naval Warfare
Royal Navy looks to OPV dry dock activities in Asia-Pacific
15th August 2024
The UK Royal Navy is expanding its Indo-Pacific logistics network, with HMS Spey and HMS Tamar set to undergo dry dock servicing in the region, while the force continues its long-term deployment for operations and defence engagement in the region.
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Air Warfare
Australia awards contracts for UAS platforms
15th July 2024
The orders break new ground for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) as they include an order for loitering munitions, the purchase of an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) and the first order for SkyMantis 2 in the region.
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Special Operations
AeroVironment to “dramatically” increase production of Switchblades
9th May 2024
The company plans to double or triple production rates for Switchblade 600 and 300 systems.
Programme Results - Defence Insight
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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) ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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, ...
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Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small
Long Range Reconnaissance (LRR) / Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) [USA]
Background The Rucksack Portable UAS (RPUAS) Programme The RPUAS programme will provide the battalion and below-ground manoeuvre elements within the US Army with an organic, ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small
Small-UAV (Jump 20) [South Korea]
Background Primary Partner In October 2025, during ADEX 2025, AeroVironment announced signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to make Korean Air (KAL-ASD) its primary partner in South Korea. The ...
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Loitering munitions
Organic Precision Fire - Light (OPF-L) (Contracted) [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 ...
Equipment Results - Defence Insight
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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 in collaboration with Parry Labs and features ...
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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, ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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, ...
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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 ...
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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, ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
