AeroVironment, Inc. (“AV”) (NASDAQ: AVAV), a leading provider of Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) and advanced air and missile defense technologies, has been selected to deliver the U.S. Army’s Next-Generation C-UAS Missile (NGCM). Along with this selection, AV was awarded a $95.9 million contract for the U.S. Army's Long-Range Kinetic Interceptor (LRKI) program through the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center (CCDC AvMC) Aviation & Missile Technology Consortium® (AMTC). As part of the LRKI program, AV will manufacture and deliver its Freedom Eagle (FE-1) kinetic C-UAS missile.

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AV’s Freedom Eagle (FE-1) kinetic C-UAS missile launches during testing earlier this year at Yuma Proving Ground [Credit: AV]

"FE-1 strengthens our nation’s air defense arsenal by providing an urgently needed kinetic C-UAS solution–built to fill the gaps in today’s defense capabilities and meet the adversarial threats of tomorrow,” said Jimmy Jenkins, Executive Vice President of AV’s Precision Strike and Defense Systems Group. “This selection by the U.S. Army is a testament to AV’s intentional investments, unmatched agility and technical expertise, and unwavering commitment to our nation’s national security priorities. We are quickly scaling production to deliver FE-1 to the frontlines, where they’ll provide critical warfighter protection and inform our development for full-rate manufacturing.”

FE-1 is a low-cost, high-performance solution to neutralize Groups 2 and 3 UAS while maintaining residual capability against Group 1 UAS, fixed wing, and rotary wing aircraft with increased lethality, extended range, and rapid launch capabilities. It has already achieved several key development milestones, including a successful live-fire demonstration of its dual-thrust solid rocket motor, controlled test vehicle (CTV) launches, and warhead tests. These achievements demonstrate FE-1's technological maturity and reduced technical risk in preparation for field deployment.

"FE-1 is more than just a missile. It's a transformative capability for next-generation air and missile defense,” said Daniel Noland, Senior Director of Strategic Capture for AV. “Our team–side by side with our industry partners and U.S. Army customers–has put in long hours in the lab and on the range because they believed in the mission: to rapidly develop the technology our warfighters need to tackle our nation’s toughest aerial threats. We’re ready to transition this disruptive technology from research and development to the battlefield and focused on ramping up manufacturing to deliver with scale and speed.”

To successfully deliver an entirely new kinetic platform built to counter rapidly evolving air threats on a rapid timeline, AV developed critical strategic partnerships and assembled a team of industry experts–including Applied Systems Engineering Inc. (“ASEI”), a leading provider of engineering and avionics solutions.

FE-1 joins AV’s portfolio of industry-leading C-UAS solutions, including Directed Energy (DE), Radio Frequency (RF)-based, and Electronic Warfare (EW) systems. The company is also a leading provider of precision strike and loitering munitions, including Switchblade and JUMP 20 which have proven success in austere battlespaces around the world. Together, these capabilities form an end-to-end, multi-domain defense architecture designed to address the most advanced UAS threats.

About AV

AV (NASDAQ: AVAV) is a defense technology leader delivering integrated capabilities across air, land, sea, space, and cyber. The Company develops and deploys autonomous systems, loitering munitions, counter-UAS technologies, space-based platforms, directed energy systems, and cyber and electronic warfare capabilities—built to meet the mission needs of today’s warfighter and tomorrow’s conflicts. With a national manufacturing footprint and a deep innovation pipeline, AV delivers proven systems and future-defining capabilities at speed, scale, and operational relevance. For more information, visit www.avinc.com.

The views and conclusions contained herein are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies or endorsements, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. Government.

Effort sponsored by the U.S. Government under Other Transaction number W9124P[1]19-9-0001 between AMTC and the Government. The U.S. Government is authorized to reproduce and distribute reprints for Governmental purposes notwithstanding any copyright notation thereon.

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"FE-1 strengthens our nation’s air defense arsenal by providing an urgently needed kinetic C-UAS solution–built to fill the gaps in today’s defense capabilities and meet the adversarial threats of tomorrow."