AeroVironment Receives $37.9 M in Orders for Digital Raven Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Digital Retrofit Kits, Support Services

Orders Represent Initial Portion of Raven Funding from United States Department of Defense Fiscal 2010 Budget

MONROVIA, Calif., Feb. 23, 2010 --ASDWire]-- AeroVironment, Inc. (AV) (NASDAQ:AVAV) announced that it received firm fixed-price orders valued at $20,731,992 for digital Raven unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and digital retrofit kits, and $17,141,648 for Raven system spare parts, repairs and training services for the U.S. Army and Marine Corps. The Raven system and retrofit order represents a portion of the $121 million appropriated for RQ-11 Raven system procurement in the 2010 Department of Defense Appropriations Act, which was signed into law in December 2009. The balance of government fiscal 2010 procurement funding that is anticipated to be converted into orders is proceeding through the procurement process. Typically the organizations responsible for administering this program retain a portion of approved funding to pay for program expenses and government furnished equipment.

The orders were released under the existing U.S. Army joint small UAS program of record for AV's Raven. This program allows for contract additions from the Army, Marine Corps, Special Operations Command and other U.S. military services. The items and services provided under these awards on this multi-year contract are fully funded and are scheduled to be delivered over the next 12 months.

"The Army and Marine Corps continue their planned procurement and deployment of Raven systems to ensure that these tools are available to their forces wherever and whenever they need them," said John Grabowsky, AV executive vice president and general manager of Unmanned Aircraft Systems. "We remain focused on providing the highest levels of system reliability and effectiveness so that soldiers, sailors, airmen and can continue to depend on their Raven systems. Supporting our customers' success with innovative, reliable small UAS is our highest priority."

The Raven unmanned aircraft is a 4.2-pound, backpackable, hand-launched sensor platform that provides day and night, real-time video imagery for "over the hill" and "around the corner" reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition in support of tactical units. U.S. armed forces use Raven systems extensively for missions such as base security, route reconnaissance, mission planning and force protection.

In addition to the Raven system, AV's small UAS include Puma(tm) and Wasp(tm), which are also hand-launched and controlled by AV's hand-held ground control station. Each aircraft in AV's family of small UAS is interoperable and tailored to address a variety of operational user needs. AV's UAS logistics operation supports systems deployed worldwide to ensure a consistently high level of operational readiness. AV has delivered thousands of small unmanned aircraft to date. International purchasers of Raven systems include Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands and Spain.

Source : AeroVironment, Inc. (The Boyer Syndicate, Inc.)