AeroVironment Receives $11M Order for Logistics Support from US DoD

AeroVironment, Inc. today announced it received a new $11,095,872 cost-plus-fixed-fee sole source contract award on March 1, 2012 from the United States Army. The order comprises Army, Marine Corps and Foreign Military Sales contractor logistics support for Raven systems. The logistics support services are scheduled to be delivered through Feb. 28, 2013. “AeroVironment’s UAS logistics operation supports systems deployed worldwide to ensure a consistently high level of operational readiness,” said Tom Herring, senior vice president and general manager, Unmanned Aircraft Systems. “The Raven system continues to be an important asset for U.S. and allied armed forces.” The RQ-11B Raven unmanned aircraft system comprises a 4.2-pound, backpackable, hand-launched sensor platform that provides day and night, real-time video imagery wirelessly to a portable ground control station for "over the hill" and "around the corner" reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition in support of tactical units. U.S. armed forces use Raven systems extensively for missions such as base security, route reconnaissance, mission planning and force protection. Each Raven system typically consists of three aircraft, two ground control stations and spares. RQ-11B Raven, Wasp, 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.