US Army awards AeroVironment 500 million dollar counter-drone contract
As cheap attack drones reshape modern battlefields, the US Army is betting $500 million on knocking them out. It awarded AeroVironment $AVAV a firm-fixed-price contract on July 1 for commercial counter-drone systems, running through June 2029. Per DefenseScoop.
The proliferation of cheap attack drones has forced a scramble to defend against them, and the US Army is now putting serious money behind the effort. On July 1, the service awarded AeroVironment $AVAV a $500 million firm-fixed-price contract to supply commercial counter-unmanned aircraft systems, the technology used to detect, track and destroy small drones before they reach their targets. According to DefenseScoop and Army Recognition, the contract was issued through Army Contracting Command at the Detroit Arsenal in Michigan and runs through June 29, 2029. Specific quantities, funding and delivery locations will be set through individual task orders over the life of the agreement. The award reflects a lesson driven home by years of drone-saturated combat in Ukraine, where inexpensive quadcopters and loitering munitions have destroyed tanks, artillery and supply vehicles worth many times their cost. Defending against them with traditional air-defense missiles is not sustainable, because a single interceptor can cost far more than the drone it stops. That mismatch is why the Pentagon has pushed toward cheaper options, including guns, electronic jamming and directed-energy lasers, all of which fall under the counter-UAS umbrella.