AeroVironment Wins U.S. Army Contract Valued at Up to $55 Million for Radio Frequency Modifications to Raven® B Unmanned Aircraft Systems

• Potential contract options total as much as $55 million; initial base delivery order is $862,488

• Hand-launched AeroVironment Raven is the most widely used military unmanned aircraft system in the world

SIMI VALLEY, Calif., Nov. 13, 2019 – AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV), a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for both defense and commercial applications, announced the U.S. Army awarded the company a firm-fixed-price contract on June 6, 2019 to begin radio frequency modifications on its currently deployed Raven® UAS. The initial base delivery order is $862,488, with potential contract options valued up to $55 million.

“AeroVironment engineered and manufactures the Raven system, so we are best equipped to support quick and efficient field upgrades to ensure maximum Raven system uptime and force protection for operators around the world,” said Rick Pedigo, vice president, sales and business development for AeroVironment.  “AeroVironment and the Army are committed to supplying soldiers closest to the fight with the most advanced aerial robotic technology to gain critical situational awareness anywhere and at any time to help them proceed with certainty.”

AeroVironment won the competitive bid as part of the Army’s $248.5 million five-year Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity small UAS sustainment contract announced in April 2018.  AeroVironment and six other awardees were selected as part of the IDIQ contract, which covers six domains: Systems, Tactical Open Government Owned Architecture (TOGA), Other Major Components, RQ-20A Puma Spares, RQ-11B Raven Spares and Flight Control Systems (FCS).  The Army selected AeroVironment as the sole-source supplier for RQ-20A and RQ-11B spares and for FCS.

AeroVironment’s Raven system is designed for rapid deployment and high mobility for applications requiring low-altitude intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. With a wingspan of 4.5 feet and weighing 4.2 pounds, the hand-launched Raven provides aerial observation, day or night, at line-of-sight ranges up to approximately 6.2 miles (10 kilometers). With its stabilized gimbaled payload, the Raven delivers real-time color or infrared imagery to ground control and remote viewing stations.