
AeroVironment has won a follow-on contract to provide additional Raven unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to an existing military customer in South East Asia.
The $6.4m firm fixed-price contract from the unidentified customer was secured on 17 September.
AeroVironment expects to begin deliveries under the contract within 12 months.
The Raven tactical UAS system is designed to support low-altitude surveillance and reconnaissance intelligence needs of military customers.
The high-mobility solution supports rapid deployment. Users can operate Raven manually or programme it to enable autonomous operation.
AeroVironment sales and business development vice-president Rick Pedigo said: “With nearly two decades of combat-proven effectiveness, Raven is a mainstay workhorse for this customer’s military, other allied governments, and the US Military because it gives troops closest to the fight immediate eyes in the sky to gain lifesaving situational awareness anywhere and at any time.
“Raven’s ruggedness, small footprint and sensor capabilities ensure that allied forces throughout the world have a profound advantage at a moment’s notice in the most extreme environments.”
The hand-launched UAS has a wingspan of 4.5ft, weighs 4.2lbs and offers an endurance of up to 90 minutes.
Raven can be used to perform aerial observation duties, day or night, and has a maximum range of 10km.
The platform’s stabilised gimbaled payload allows it to provide ‘real-time colour or infrared imagery to ground control and remote viewing stations’, AeroVironment said.
AeroVironment’s family of tactical UAS systems includes Puma LE, RQ-20A/B Puma, RQ-11B Raven, RQ-12A Wasp, and VAPOR Helicopter UAS.