Army Secures Continued Support For Its Fleet Of Puma Long Range Reconnaissance Surveillance (LRRS) And Raven Medium Range Mobile (MRM) UAS

The U.S. Army has awarded a five-year, $248 million contract to AeroVironment and six other suppliers for small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) sustainment. The seven awardees will compete for LRRS and MRM UAS, Tactical Open Architecture Controller system and spare and repair parts procurement task orders over the duration of the contract.

“The Army and AeroVironment remain committed to supporting the soldier closest to the fight with UAS solutions proven secure, effective and dependable around the world,” said Kirk Flittie, vice president and general manager of AeroVironment’s UAS business segment. “The IDIQ contract assures that American soldiers can continue to rely on AeroVironment’s combat-proven solutions to deliver the actionable intelligence they need to proceed with certainty.”

AeroVironment won the first competitive award for the Army’s small UAS program of record on a sole-source basis in 2005, and won the renewal of that contract with four other suppliers in 2012. AeroVironment is the designer and manufacturer of the RQ-11B Raven and RQ-20A and B Puma UAS, which constitute the vast majority of the Army’s existing fleet of Small UAS. The AeroVironment Raven, the most widely deployed defense unmanned aircraft system in the world today, is a lightweight solution designed for rapid deployment and high mobility for military applications requiring low-altitude surveillance and reconnaissance intelligence.

The AeroVironment Puma is a small unmanned aircraft system designed for land-based and maritime operations. Capable of landing in water or on the ground, the all-environment Puma, with its Mantis i45 sensor suite, empowers the operator with extended flight time and a level of imaging capability never before available in the small UAS class.

(Image provided with AeroVironment news release)

FMI: www.avinc.com