Will Provide Add'l Raven Small UAS, Support Services

The US Army likes its Ravens. On Thursday, AeroVironment, Inc. announced the Army has exercised its option on additional RQ-11B Raven small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and associated services, under an existing contract. Each Raven system typically consists of three aircraft, a ground control station, system spares, and related services. The total award value is $45.8 million and is fully funded.

The option was submitted under the existing US Army joint small UAS program of record for AV's Raven and will provide systems for the Army and Marine Corps. This program allows for contract additions from the Army, Special Operations Command and other US military services. The items provided under this one-year option on the multi-year contract are scheduled to be delivered within one year of the contract award date.

"We are pleased to support the Army and Marine Corps' expanding rollout of Raven systems to the tactical ground forces that rely on them. Our partnership with our customers enables us to provide them with battle-proven, durable Raven systems that perform reliably when and where they are needed," said John Grabowsky, AV executive vice president and general manager of unmanned aircraft systems. "The increased deployment of Raven systems across the US armed forces reflects the joint and interoperable nature of this solution."

AV's Raven is a 4.2-pound, backpackable, hand-launched sensor platform that provides day and night, real-time video imagery for "over the hill" and "around the corner" reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition in support of tactical units. US armed forces use Ravens extensively for missions such as base security, route reconnaissance, mission planning and force protection.

According to the US Army, Ravens were flown for approximately 150,000 combat hours in 2007. In addition to Raven, AV's small UAS include Puma and Wasp, which are also hand-launched and controlled by AV's hand-held, common ground control station. AV's UAS logistics operation supports systems deployed worldwide to ensure a consistently high level of operational readiness. AV has delivered more than 8,000 small unmanned aircraft to date.

FMI: www.avinc.com, www.army.mil