• Uncrewed Vehicles

  RCN pushes ahead with UAS plans

  10th January 2018

  The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) is pushing ahead with plans to acquire a family of UAS that can be operated from all Canadian vessels in …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AeroVironment to expand Blackwing UAS programme

  13th October 2017

  AeroVironment has received a contract from the US Navy for continuation and expansion of its Blackwing small UAV programme, the company announced on 9 October. …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUSA 2017: Next-generation UAVs detailed (video)

  10th October 2017

  Aerovironment has detailed the latest iterations of its Puma and Raven UAS, with new datalink security, EO/IR and RF payloads and upgraded avionics module.  Shephard spoke with …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  MDM 2017: AeroVironment highlights UAS camera upgrade

  21st September 2017

  In addition to spotlighting expanded datalink compatibility for Raven and Puma AE with the new M1/M2/M5 radios and frequency spectrum, AeroVironment used MDM 2017 to …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AeroVironment delivers M1/M2/M5-compatible UAS

  22nd September 2017

  AeroVironment has integrated new M1/M2/M5 radio frequencies into its family of small UAS, enabling users to securely conform to the Department of Defense’s (DoD's) new …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  MSPO 2017: Warmate development path planned out

  10th September 2017

  Polish outfit WB Group is putting together a future development plan for its Warmate loitering munition, that will include mixed-platform teaming and alternative payloads. The …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  ADF signs Wasp AE contract

  28th July 2017

  AeroVironment has formally signed contracts to deliver its Wasp AE UAS to the Australian Defence Force (ADF), the company announced on 25 July. AeroVironment will …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Australia set for Wasp infestation

  1st June 2017

  Australia is investing A$101 million (US$75 million) in AeroVironment Wasp AE UAVs, with this money allocated for the first of two tranches to be acquired …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AUVSI 2017: Snipe on target for US military (video)

  9th May 2017

  AeroVironment has unveiled its latest addition to its UAV Family, Snipe, a nano-UAS based on the Hummingbird UAS the company worked on with DARPA. The …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Avalon 2017: ADF progresses UAV capability

  6th March 2017

  Australia's latest acquisition - the Schiebel Camcopter S-100 system - was on display at the Avalon Air Show near Melbourne, where the three branches of …

• Defence Notes

  Philippines receives US arms

  2nd February 2017

  On 27 January the US delivered batches of infantry weapons and an unmanned vehicle system to the Philippines Armed Forces (AFP). These were purchased by …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AeroVironment unveils Quantix UAS

  18th November 2016

  AeroVironment has introduced a new UAS aimed at the commercial market called Quantix, the company announced on 14 November. The system is capable of operator-in-the-loop …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  AeroVironment receives Dutch UAV order

  1st November 2016

  AeroVironment will provide the Netherlands Ministry of Defence with small UAS, upgrades and support services under a contract announced on 31 October. The contract will …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Altarnative power for C-Astral Bramor

  7th November 2016

  Alta Devices will work to further integrate its thin film solar technology into the newly unveiled Bramor ppX-LRS long range solar UAV, following the successful …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  US Navy demonstrates Blackwing UAV

  12th September 2016

  The US Navy has successfully demonstrated the ability of the submarine-launched Blackwing UAS to link with a swarm of unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs) and communicate …

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 ...