AeroVironment Wins $12m US Army Contract for Wasp AE SUAS

AeroVironment, Inc. has announced that NAVAIR’s Program Office for Navy & Marine Corps Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems (PMA-263), working collaboratively with the United States Army’s Counter-IED Program Office, awarded a contract on Sept. 21, 2012 for AeroVironment Wasp® AE small unmanned aircraft systems, initial spares packages, training services, and one year of contractor logistics support. The PMA / Army team worked jointly to award the contract to PAR® Government Systems Corporation, which in turn secured the systems and services from AeroVironment for a total value of $12,032,430. Delivery was scheduled to occur within four months of contract award.

“We introduced the Wasp AE in May of 2012 with the expectation that multiple customers would find its capabilities very compelling,” said Roy Minson, AeroVironment senior vice president and general manager of its Unmanned Aircraft Systems business segment. “These contracts supporting the United States Marine Corps expand the adoption of Wasp AE beyond the Air Force, and support our view that this highly capable successor to the proven Wasp III system will help our customers operate more safely and effectively.”

Wasp AE incorporates the smallest of AeroVironment’s Mantis™ suite of miniature gimbaled payloads, the 275 gram Mantis i22 AE, giving operators both color and infrared video imagery from a single sensor package. Weighing 2.8 pounds (1.3 kilograms), the Wasp AE air vehicle is designed for ground and water landing, making it suitable for both land and maritime missions, and is capable of 20 percent greater flight duration than the Wasp III.

AeroVironment Small UAS

RQ-11B Raven®, Wasp AE, 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 United States government customers and to more than 20 international governments.

The Qube™ small UAS is tailored to law enforcement, first response and other public safety missions. Small enough to fit easily in the trunk of a car, the Qube system can be unpacked, assembled and ready for flight in less than five minutes, giving the operator a rapidly deployable eye in the sky at a fraction of the cost of manned aircraft and large unmanned aircraft. In addition to public safety missions, AeroVironment’s family of small UAS can also perform missions supporting border security, wildlife and environmental monitoring, infrastructure management, scientific research and agriculture management.