U.S. Army awards AeroVironment $500M counter-drone contract
The U.S. Army has awarded AeroVironment $AVAV a $500 million firm-fixed-price contract for commercial counter-drone systems, running through June 2029. The gear is built to detect, track, and defeat hostile drones, from small FPV quadcopters to larger reconnaissance and attack ai
The U.S. Army has awarded AeroVironment $AVAV a $500 million firm-fixed-price contract to supply commercial counter-drone systems, issued by Army Contracting Command at Detroit Arsenal in Michigan and running through June 2029. Funding and delivery run through individual task orders rather than a single lump sum. The systems are designed to detect, track, and defeat hostile drones across several size classes, from small first-person-view quadcopters to larger reconnaissance and one-way attack aircraft. AeroVironment also builds the Titan family of radio-frequency jammers, which disrupt the control and navigation links a drone relies on, and is better known for its Switchblade loitering munitions. The economics are the wider point: a modern attack drone can cost a few hundred dollars, while the interceptor missiles once used against them cost far more, so dedicated, layered counter-drone gear is an effort to close that cost gap. Sources: Benzinga, GovConWire, ClearanceJobs, Army Recognition.