AeroVironment, Inc. has announced that it has received a $13,487,240 order from the United States Army. The order – the final portion of a contract valued at $59.6 million – includes RQ-11B Raven unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), miniature gimballed payloads and initial spares packages, and is funded from the Army’s fiscal 2012 procurement budget.
Delivery of systems, spares and payloads is scheduled for completion by September 15, 2013.
AeroVironment received three prior orders against this contract in May 2012, August 2012 and March 2013 for $15.8 million, $16.5 million and $13.8 million, respectively. The total actual value of the contract is $59.6 million, compared to its initial projected “not to exceed” value of $65.9 million.
“AeroVironment developed and deployed the Raven system quickly and effectively to support our military forces in a dynamic threat environment,” said Roy Minson, AeroVironment senior vice president and general manager, Unmanned Aircraft Systems. “As a result, the Raven, along with Puma and Wasp, make up the large majority of the Pentagon’s unmanned aircraft fleet. Importantly, however, because of the low cost and efficiency of our solutions, our small unmanned aircraft accounted for less than five percent of total reported United States Department of Defense UAS spending since 2004. We deliver highly effective solutions that improve capabilities for the warfighter at low cost to the U.S. taxpayer.”
Minson added, “In addition to serving United States warfighters, we have also expanded our small UAS to 24 international military forces. Looking ahead, AeroVironment continues to focus on innovation and post-sale support to ensure that our customers maintain their battlefield advantage.”
The RQ-11B Raven unmanned aircraft system is a 4.5-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. Raven systems now come equipped with AeroVironment’s fully stabilized Mantis™ gimbaled payload, incorporating electro-optical and infrared video sensors and a laser illuminator. 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.
Source: Press Release