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AeroVironment Awarded $26 Million Switchblade 600 Tactical Missile Systems Contract by U.S. Special Operations Command

Wednesday, April 28th, 2021

• Switchblade 600 features high-precision optics, more than 40 minutes of loitering endurance and an anti-armor warhead for engaging and prosecuting hardened static and moving light armored vehicles

• Integration of Switchblade 600 into maritime platforms enables precision engagements against naval and littoral threats and greater deployment flexibility

Switchblade 600 is an extended-range loitering missile system capable of multi-domain operations. (Photo: AeroVironment, Inc.)

SIMI VALLEY, Calif., April 27, 2021 AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), today announced it was awarded a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract on March 31, 2021 by the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) for $26,120,810 with $7,159,036 funded upon receipt. The contract includes delivery and integration of Switchblade® 600 tactical missile systems into specialized maritime platforms, scheduled to be completed by January 2023.

“Our team worked closely with our customers to develop Switchblade 600, a loitering missile system that addresses the increasingly complex needs and mission requirements of counterinsurgency operations and those against peer and near-peer adversaries,” said Brett Hush, AeroVironment vice president and product line general manager for tactical missile systems. “Integrating Switchblade 600 into combat platforms, such as the USSOCOM’s specialized maritime vessels, enhances force overmatch, minimizes warfighter exposure to enemy direct and indirect fires and accelerates the maturation of this innovative solution.”

The AeroVironment Switchblade 600 is an all-in-one, man portable solution equipped with a high-performance EO/IR gimbaled sensor suite, precision flight control and more than 40 minutes of flight time to deliver unprecedented tactical reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition (RSTA). Its anti-armor warhead enables engagement and prosecution of hardened static and moving light armored vehicles from multiple angles – without external ISR or fires assets – for precise, localized effects and minimal collateral damage.

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AeroVironment Receives U.S. Army Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile Systems Contract Valued At Up To $41 Million for Switchblade 300 Tactical Missile Systems Contractor Logistics Support

Friday, April 23rd, 2021

• Award for contractor logistics support approved through Joint Urgent Operational Needs Statement, reflecting high priority requirement and strong user demand from the frontline

• Funded value for contractor logistics support is $13,010,560 with a total potential contract value of $40,852,467

Switchblade 300 delivers unmatched force protection and precision strike capabilities to frontline forces. (Photo: AeroVironment, Inc.)

SIMI VALLEY, Calif., April 22, 2021 –AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), today announced it received a $13,010,560 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract order on March 24, 2021 from the U.S. Army for Switchblade® 300 tactical missile systems contractor logistics support. The contract has a total potential value of $40,852,467, for which funding was authorized via a DoD-approved Joint Urgent Operational Need Statement. Logistics support services are scheduled to be delivered through March 2024.

“AeroVironment provides customers with logistics operation services, such as operator training, flight support and maintenance, to ensure the unmanned aircraft systems and tactical missile systems are operationally ready for deployment at any time,” said Brett Hush, AeroVironment vice president and product line general manager for tactical missile systems.

AeroVironment’s combat proven Switchblade 300 is back-packable and rapidly deployable from ground platforms, including a multipack launcher, providing warfighters with rapid-response force protection and precision strike capabilities up to 10 kilometers (6 miles) from its launch location. Its high precision, combined with specialized effects and patented “wave-off” feature, results in Switchblade’s ability to minimize or even eliminate collateral damage.

Posted in Army, Contracts, Press Release, UAS | Comments Off on AeroVironment Receives U.S. Army Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile Systems Contract Valued At Up To $41 Million for Switchblade 300 Tactical Missile Systems Contractor Logistics Support

AeroVironment Celebrates Historic First Powered Flight on another World by Mars Ingenuity Helicopter

Wednesday, April 21st, 2021

AeroVironment Mars Ingenuity Helicopter Program team members Sara Langberg, Peter Zwaan, Joey Beckman, Ben Pipenberg, Jeremy Tyler and Matt Keennon celebrate Ingenuity’s successful first flight. (Photo: AeroVironment, Inc.)

SIMI VALLEY, Calif., April 20, 2021 – AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), celebrated with its colleagues at NASA/JPL when data confirming the Ingenuity Helicopter’s successful first flight on Mars arrived at approximately 3:50 a.m. PT on April 19.

“AeroVironment is proud to have played a key role in developing the Mars Ingenuity Helicopter and achieving today’s historic first powered flight on another planet,” said Wahid Nawabi, AeroVironment president and chief executive officer. “We congratulate JPL and NASA on today’s achievement and salute their leadership and vision for deploying unmanned technology to further our understanding of other worlds.”

Since 2013, the AeroVironment team has worked closely with NASA rotorcraft experts and with JPL electrical, mechanical, materials, vehicle flight controls, and systems engineers on the Mars Ingenuity Helicopter project. AeroVironment’s contributions to Ingenuity include the design and development of the helicopter’s airframe and major subsystems, including its rotor, rotor blades, hub and control mechanism hardware. AeroVironment also developed and built high-efficiency, lightweight propulsion motors, power electronics, landing gear, load-bearing structures, and the thermal enclosure for NASA/JPL’s avionics, sensors, and software systems.

“AeroVironment’s deep, rich and diverse history of designing reliable and effective unmanned solutions that deliver mission success in extreme environments, combined with our experience with near-space aircraft, make us uniquely suited to collaborate with NASA and JPL,” Nawabi said. “We also incorporated the ultra-lightweight and ultra-high-precision methods integral to Nano projects that have been developed in our MacCready Works Advance Solutions laboratory, where we’ve assembled a dedicated team of the industry’s brightest and most experienced engineers to solve some of today’s greatest technological challenges.

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AeroVironment Awarded $45 Million Option for Switchblade Tactical Missile Systems Under U.S. Army Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile Systems Contract

Tuesday, April 20th, 2021

• Combat proven Switchblade 300 with patented “wave-off” feature and recommit ability provides operators with increased lethality, reach and precision strike capabilities with low collateral effects

• Contract option includes first approved export to an allied nation, extending Switchblade’s unique capabilities to friendly forces and promoting interoperability for joint operations

Switchblade 300 is a back-packable and rapidly-deployable tactical missile system for use against beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) targets. (Photo: AeroVironment, Inc. )

SIMI VALLEY, Calif., April 20, 2021 –AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), today announced the U.S. Army has exercised an option on its Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile Systems (LMAMS) contract for additional Switchblade® 300 tactical missile systems for the Army and for export to an allied nation. The $44,961,751 contract option increases the total value of the contract to $122,523,677. Delivery will take place over a two-year period.

AeroVironment received the contract option on March 16, 2021 and it will be managed by the U.S. Army Contracting Command – Redstone Arsenal and the U.S. Department of Defense Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.

“Switchblade is a versatile, combat-proven loitering missile that offers a unique combination of portability, precision, rapid deployment and collateral damage avoidance capabilities to our customers,” said Brett Hush, AeroVironment vice president and product line general manager for tactical missile systems. “The adoption of Switchblade systems across the U.S. armed forces, and now by the first allied nation, reflects its compelling capabilities and its potential for joint interoperability.”

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DroneShield Reports US Law Enforcement Initial Order

Saturday, April 10th, 2021

DroneShield Ltd (ASX:DRO) (“DroneShield” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce it has received an initial order from a high profile US law enforcement agency.

The order comprises of a mobile system of two passive/non-emitting UAS detection sensors, deployed in a mobile configuration, enabling rapid system setup, for detection and tracking of nefarious UAS. The order is expected to lead to follow up orders with this and other US law enforcement agencies. The payment for the order is expected to be in the current 2Q21 quarter.

Oleg Vornik, DroneShield’s CEO, commented, “We are pleased to continue expanding the breadth of our US customer base, now reaching into law enforcement. It is a large and important market, and this initial deployment will serve as a reference case for expected follow-on sales.”

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Schiebel Camcopter S-100 Performs Maritime Surveillance for Romanian Border Police

Saturday, April 10th, 2021

Vienna, 8 April 2021 – The Romanian Border Police operates the CAMCOPTER® S-100 for maritime surveillance purposes. The Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) service is delivered by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) and is also extended to Bulgaria.

Stationed in Mangalia, the CAMCOPTER® S-100 supports the Romanian authorities in carrying out general Coast Guard functions, conducting day-to-day monitoring and surveillance of all shipping including port security, as well as responding to any search and rescue, accident and disaster needs. The S-100 executes these various tasks equipped with an L3 Wescam Electro-Optical / Infra-Red (EO/IR) camera gimbal, an Overwatch Imaging PT-8 Oceanwatch, a Becker Avionics BD406 Emergency Beacon Locator and an Automatic Identification System (AIS) receiver.

Operations in Romania and Bulgaria are part of the EMSA awarded multi-year maritime surveillance contract for a Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) RPAS, awarded to Schiebel in November 2018. In the execution of this contract, Schiebel provides simultaneous maritime surveillance services to several EU member states and EU bodies. Most recently, the CAMCOPTER® S-100 was operational in France, Denmark, Finland and Croatia.

Hans Georg Schiebel, Chairman of the Schiebel Group, said: “Once more, we are supporting local authorities with our ‘eye in the sky’. The CAMCOPTER® S-100 has proven its outstanding capabilities numerous times and we are proud to be working with EMSA on supporting EU member states with these vital tasks.”

www.schiebel.net

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AeroVironment Receives Multiple Puma 3 AE Orders Totaling $11 Million from NATO Support and Procurement Agency

Wednesday, April 7th, 2021

• Portable, rugged Puma 3 All Environment (AE) unmanned aircraft system provides immediate tactical reconnaissance capabilities for land and maritime operations

• Four orders received encompass procurement of Puma 3 AE tactical unmanned aircraft systems and initial spares packages

Puma 3 All Environment (AE) unmanned aircraft system delivers real-time situational awareness and actionable intelligence for both maritime and land based operations. (Photo: AeroVironment, Inc.)

SIMI VALLEY, Calif., April 6, 2021 – AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), today announced its receipt of four firm-fixed-price orders totaling $11,527,074 from the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) for Puma™ 3 AE tactical UAS and initial spares packages.

The orders are part of a three-year base contract received from NSPA in January 2020. The contract includes an option for two additional years of logistics support for Raven®, Wasp® and Puma tactical UAS. The total potential value of the multi-year contract is $80 million, encompassing the procurement and sustainment of AeroVironment tactical UAS employed by the defense forces of several NATO countries.

AeroVironment received the orders in October and December 2020, with delivery anticipated by June 2021.

“The Puma AE unmanned aircraft system enables frontline forces to gather real-time intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance in any operational environment,” said Trace Stevenson, AeroVironment vice president and small UAS product line general manager. “Puma AE and other products within AeroVironment’s family of tactical UAS use a common ground control station and software, providing increased capability to the warfighter and greater interoperability among NATO forces.”

AeroVironment’s Puma 3 AE unmanned aircraft system is designed for land and maritime operations. The hand-launched Puma 3 AE has a wingspan of 9.2 feet, weighs 15 pounds and can operate for up to 2.5 hours. The aircraft also has a range of 12.4 miles (20 kilometers) with a standard antenna, and up to 37.2 miles (60 kilometers) with AeroVironment’s Long-Range Tracking Antenna (LRTA). It also features reduced system packaging with a flyable configuration and GCS in one case. Capable of landing in water or on land, the all-environment Puma 3 AE and Mantis i45 EO/IR sensor suite empower operators with extended flight time and a level of imaging capability never before available in the tactical UAS class.

AeroVironment’s family of tactical UAS comprises the majority of all unmanned aircraft in the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) inventory and its rapidly growing international customer base of more than 50 allied governments. To learn more, visit www.avinc.com.

ABOUT AEROVIRONMENT UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SOLUTIONS

AeroVironment’s portfolio of intelligent, multi-domain robotic systems includes small footprint, runway-independent unmanned aircraft systems. The JUMP® 20, T-20™ and Puma™ LE provide extended range, multi-payload capabilities, and the Puma™ RQ-20, Raven® RQ-11B, Wasp® RQ-12A, VAPOR® Helicopter and automated Quantix™ Recon deliver highly tactical, frontline situational awareness. These solutions deliver increased, multi-mission capabilities and the option of selecting the appropriate aircraft based on the type of mission to be performed. These capabilities have the potential to provide significant force protection and force multiplication benefits to small tactical units and security personnel, as well as greater safety, scalability and cost-savings to commercial operators. AeroVironment provides turnkey ISR and support services worldwide to ensure a consistently high level of mission success.

AeroVironment has delivered tens of thousands of new and replacement unmanned air vehicles to customers within the United States and to more than 50 allied governments. For more information, visit www.avinc.com/uas.

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DroneShield – Successful US Air Force Base Demonstration

Friday, March 26th, 2021

DroneShield Ltd (ASX:DRO) (“DroneShield” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce, in partnership with Trakka Systems, a successful demonstration of the TIPS-C (Trakka Interceptor Package Solution) at Eglin Air Force Base. The TIPS-C is designed to better serve the ISR, inspection, UAS and C-UAS marketplaces.

On February 24, 2021, an executive team from DroneShield and Trakka Systems met with multiple key decision makers and members from Hanscom and Eglin AFB at the Northwest Florida Fairgrounds to demonstrate the unmatched capabilities of the TIPS-C total package solution.

The TIPS-C, mounted on a mobile platform, provides a flexible, early detection, identification, and neutralizing counter UAS solution for the rapidly evolving UAS threat. Trakka’s partnered vendor DroneShield provided DroneSentry-C2™ software, which is designed to produce a common operating picture for drone detection and tracking within the local airspace. DroneSentry-C2™ ingested the data from several sensors, including the radar, radio frequency (RF), and our TrakkaCam TC-300 to provide an intuitive visualization of the airspace and potential drone threats.

DroneShield’s DroneSentry-C2™ integrates RadarZero™ radar, TrakkaCam TC-300, and DroneOptID™ AI-based computer vision engine to provide real-time drone detection and tracking with slew-to-cue camera for visual threat assessment and video evidence recording.

The backbone of the TIPS-C is an open architecture command and control center with TrakkaMaps TM-100 proprietary mapping solution that can incorporate any number of third-party complementary detection and neutralizing devices. Our advanced software algorithms can detect, identify, and automatically track drones of any size while dismissing other moving objects (including birds) in detections zones. This feature all but eliminates the false positives that challenge other systems, thereby saving precious time in the heat of imminent threats.

The demonstration was, overall, an excellent success. Additional feedback from our partners and customers set the TIPS-C above any product they’ve seen:

“No OEM has been able to successfully demonstrate an integrated system that detects UAS, slews optical sensor onto target and tracks, then classifies the UAS.”

“Setup time from covert to up and detecting was less than 10 minutes. For a mobile, multi-sensor system that’s unprecedented.”

“Integrated capability allows operators to detect and protect while on the move and at the halt in a low-SWaP form factor.”

“The autonomous nature of not only multi-sensor detection, but fusion and continuous tracking of the UAV with little to no cognitive burden on the analyst or operator.”

The breakthrough capabilities of the TIPS-C provide an expert suite of low risk, seamlessly integrated UAS detection and mapping solutions that are flexible, aware, reliable, and economical.

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