DARPA Awards AeroVironment Phase II Tern Contract to Develop New Class of Maritime Unmanned Aircraft System
October 08 2014 - 09:10AM
Business Wire
- Tern intended as next-generation,
mid-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft system (UAS)
- AeroVironment-led team of industry
experts incorporating advanced technologies to develop new UAS for
agile maritime operations
- Contract valued at $19 million
AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) announced the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has selected the company and its
team of industry leaders to follow its successful phase I concept
design effort with a phase II preliminary design for the Tactically
Exploited Reconnaissance Node, or Tern. The 12-month, $19,035,007
phase II effort seeks to conclude with subscale flight
demonstrations prior to a planned phase III award decision.
AeroVironment selected industry partners with uniquely relevant
experience and capabilities for the Tern program, including large
aircraft avionics, ship integration and propulsion expertise.
Advanced technologies form the basis of the team’s unique approach
to realizing DARPA’s program objectives.
DARPA and the U.S. Office of Naval Research envision a new
concept of operations using smaller ships as mobile launch and
recovery sites for medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) UAS. Tern
aims to make it much easier, quicker and less expensive for the
Navy and Marine Corps to deploy persistent intelligence,
surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and strike capabilities
almost anywhere in the world.
“Our team represents the best combination of relevant expertise
and technology leadership to make Tern a reality,” said Roy Minson,
AeroVironment senior vice president and general manager of its UAS
business segment. “Our innovative approach to achieving DARPA’s
objectives for Tern holds the promise of an entirely new category
of unmanned aircraft system that could operate more quickly and
effectively by deploying from smaller naval vessels for longer,
more distant missions. We look forward to demonstrating this new
capability to help protect our naval forces and those of our allies
affordably and effectively.”
About AeroVironmentAeroVironment is a technology
solutions provider that designs, develops, produces, supports and
operates an advanced portfolio of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)
and electric transportation solutions. The company’s
electric-powered, hand-launched unmanned aircraft systems generate
and process data to deliver powerful insight, on-demand, to people
engaged in military, public safety and commercial activities around
the world. Global Observer® is a
hybrid-electric, stratospheric UAS designed to provide affordable,
persistent reconnaissance and communication over any location on
the globe. The Switchblade® tactical
missile system enables the infantry squad and other customers with
increased lethality, reach and force protection through its rapid
deployment, direct fire and collateral damage avoidance
capabilities. AeroVironment’s electric transportation solutions
include a comprehensive suite of electric vehicle (EV) charging
systems, installation and network services for consumers,
automakers, utilities and government agencies, power cycling and
test systems for EV developers and industrial electric vehicle
charging systems for commercial fleets. More information about
AeroVironment is available at www.avinc.com.
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defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
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including, but not limited to, economic, competitive, governmental
and technological factors outside of our control, that may cause
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to differ materially from the forward-looking statements include,
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most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on
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AeroVironment, Inc.Steven
Gitlin,+1-626-357-9983pr@avinc.comorFor AeroVironment, Inc.Mark
Boyer, +1-310-229-5956mark@boyersyndicate.com
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