AeroVironment Inc., said the U.S. Department of Defenses’ Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has decided not to go forward with a Phase III contract with the company.
Simi Valley-based Aerovironment said DARPA’s decision came after a competition for the Phase III contract following successful Phase I and II efforts as part of the DARPA Tern (Tactically Exploitative Reconnaissance Node) programme.
“Our team developed a truly innovative approach to addressing DARPA’s requirements, but our customer elected not to pursue our proposed solution,” Kirk Flittie, AeroVironment vice president and general manager of its Unmanned Aircraft Systems business segment, said in a statement. “We thank DARPA for the opportunity to apply our innovation toward developing a next generation unmanned aircraft system to protect United States Navy personnel. We are grateful for the outstanding contributions of our employees and our business partners in this endeavour.”
The company said the loss of the contract is immaterial to its previously announced fiscal year 2016 guidance and revenue neutral for the Phase III performance period as a result of the company’s proposed funded research and development approach.
Source: LA Biz