USMC Orders RQ-12 Wasp SUAS Worth $21 Million

AeroVironment, Inc. today announced it has received a firm fixed-price order valued at $21.7million for RQ-12 Wasp AE small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and initial spares packages for the United States Marine Corps. 

The United States Marine Corps, which recently unveiled its next generation small UAS family of systems, is adding RQ-12 Wasp AE as the short-range, or micro, solution to the existing small UAS portfolio made up of the AeroVironment RQ-11B Raven and RQ-20A Puma AE. Puma AE is the USMC’s long-range solution. 

“Together with the professionals at ADS, whose military-experienced personnel procured this order by demonstrating a clear understanding of the customer’s mission and requirements, we are confident that Wasp AE will provide deployed Marines with valuable situational awareness that will help them operate more safely and effectively,” said Roy Minson, AeroVironment senior vice president and general manager of its Unmanned Aircraft Systems business segment. 

AeroVironment received the order from ADS, Inc. on behalf of the United States Marine Corps through the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Tailored Logistics Support (TLS) program. Delivery is scheduled within 12 months. 

Previously procured by the Marine Corps and the U.S. Air Force, the Wasp AE weighs 2.8 pounds, operates for up to 50 minutes at a range of up to five kilometers and delivers live, streaming color and infrared video from its pan-tilt-zoom Mantis i22 AE gimbaled payload. Launched by hand and capable of landing on the ground or in fresh or salt water, the Wasp AE provides portability and flexibility for infantry, littoral or maritime reconnaissance operations. 

“Wasp AE delivers unmatched portability and flexibility with its small size, all-environment operation and advanced capabilities,” Minson said. 

RQ-11B Raven, RQ-12 Wasp, RQ-20A Puma and Shrike VTOL 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 can 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 provide significant force protection and force multiplication benefits to small tactical units and security personnel. AeroVironment provides logistics services worldwide to ensure a consistently high level of operational readiness and provides mission services for customers requiring only the information its small UAS produce. AeroVironment has delivered thousands of new and replacement small unmanned air vehicles to customers within the United States and to more than 30 international governments. 

The Puma AE small UAS comprises one component of AeroVironment’s advanced, turnkey data collection, processing and delivery solution employed to provide commercial customers with engineering-quality information, on-demand, across multiple industries such as oil & gas, agriculture, mining and others.