AeroVironment

Background

Founded in 1971 by aeronautical engineer Paul MacCready in California, AeroVironment built its early reputation on human-powered and solar aircraft before pivoting to small unmanned systems for the U.S.

military in the 1990s and 2000s. The company is headquartered in Arlington, VA, and is led by CEO Wahid Nawabi.

The BlueHalo acquisition closed on 1 May 2025, and the combined company established Autonomous Systems and Space, Cyber and Directed Energy segments, as documented in AV's completion announcement. AV's August 2025 Form 10-Q recorded $3.528786 billion in merger consideration, or $3.484945 billion net of acquired cash, including 17,425,849 AV shares; those closing-accounting amounts differ from the approximately $4.1 billion announced transaction valuation.

ESAero's acquisition closed on 16 March 2026, with AV's annual filing recording a $177.909 million aggregate purchase price and AV's acquisition announcement stating an approximately $200 million valuation.

AV introduced Switchblade 600 Block 2, Switchblade 400 and Switchblade 300 Block 20 with an EFP payload on 13 October 2025. On 4 May 2026, AV announced a Switchblade 400 LASSO prototype agreement covering development, delivery and testing, without a disclosed value or an established full-rate production award. AV launched Red Dragon in May 2025, describing autonomous mission execution without continuous satellite navigation or operator input.

AV introduced MAYHEM 10 on 15 April 2026 as a launched-effects platform with interchangeable ISR, electronic-warfare, relay and strike payloads. AV and Applied Intuition's 29 July announcement described Acuity ISR/Strike integration and a demonstration of collaborative behaviours and swarming, without establishing operational fielding or a procurement contract.

AV introduced JUMP 20-X in February 2025 as a maritime-oriented, heavy-fuel aircraft. AV's LOCUST X3 release described scalable 20–35+ kilowatt configurations. AV introduced Halo_Shield in April as a distributed counter-UAS architecture, followed by AV_Halo INSTINCT autonomy and DETECT RF-sensing modules in May.

VideoRay introduced the compact Mission Specialist Wraith underwater vehicle in January 2026, and Telerob introduced the backpackable TOM 50 RE ground robot for reconnaissance, mapping and explosive-ordnance disposal in June.

Robert Smith became COO effective 13 April 2026, as specified in AV's appointment announcement. Sean T. Woodward succeeded Kevin McDonnell as CFO effective 1 May 2026, with the transition documented in AV's appointment announcement and September results.

The 24 June Schedule 13D/A records David Wodlinger and Henry Albers's board resignations effective 17 June 2026, states that they were unrelated to disagreements with management, and preserves the shareholder group's rights to designate successors.

Latest developments

• 2026-09-04: Army Awards AeroVironment $465 Million to Produce LOCUST X3 Lasers
• 2026-07-29: AeroVironment rents its autonomy: Applied Intuition's software goes onto the Mayhem 10
• 2026-07-14: Helsing picks West Virginia for its first US factory, targeting 2,000 HX-2 strike drones a month
• 2026-07-06: AeroVironment wins a $500M homeland counter-drone contract, pushing Switchblade's maker into base defense
• 2026-06-05: AeroVironment wins a $117 million Army order for 82 runway-free P550 scout drones

Linked records

Wired to the rest of BattlePolicy — the systems it builds in the Lexicon and the contracts it wins in the Procurement Tracker. Every link below is a record in our own datasets.

Financial footing

• The U.S. government's 3 June 2026 contract notice awarded $117,306,232 for 82 P550 systems for battalion reconnaissance, identified in AV's 20 July 2026 announcement as the Long Range Reconnaissance/Battalion Reconnaissance effort
• The notice's estimated completion date does not establish completed delivery
• AV announced Switchblade delivery orders of $288 million in February 2025, $186 million in February 2026 and $51 million in August 2026, all under the existing five-year, $990 million Lethal Unmanned Systems IDIQ, with the August order including an unnamed allied FMS customer
• ESAero's acquisition closed on 16 March 2026 at an aggregate purchase price of $177.909 million recorded in AV's FY2026 Form 10-K, compared with the approximately $200 million valuation AV announced
• Backers: Public shareholders, Arlington Capital-affiliated Altitude V Holdings (6,728,262 shares), Arlington Capital-affiliated Altitude VI Holdings (5,307,628 shares), holdings disclosed in the 24 June 2026 Schedule 13D/A

For the year ended 30 April 2026, AV's annual results recorded revenue of $1.976845 billion, up 141%, a net loss of $265.122 million and annual bookings of $2.7 billion.

The same AV results recorded fourth-quarter revenue of $641.616 million and net income of $63.174 million.

AV's 22 June 2026 restated Form 10-Q/A corrected a goodwill-impairment calculation that had understated operating loss by $89.402 million and net loss by $87.272 million for the three- and nine-month periods ended 31 January 2026.

The restated AV filing identified a related material weakness, left revenue and operating cash flow unchanged, and stated that earlier financial communications for those periods should not be relied upon. AV's FY2026 Form 10-K records the customer's March 2026 termination for convenience of the BADGER phased-array antenna agreement supporting Space Force's Satellite Communication Augmentation Resource, SCAR.

For the quarter ended 1 August 2026, AV's 9 September results recorded revenue of $480.5 million, up 6%, an operating loss of $10.9 million and a net loss of $5.1 million, compared with a $67.4 million net loss a year earlier. The AV results also recorded approximately $700 million in bookings and approximately $1.5 billion in funded backlog.

In its September outlook, AV retained FY2027 revenue guidance of $2.125–$2.225 billion and adjusted EBITDA guidance of $305–$325 million, while forecasting net income of $10–$27 million, compared with $8–$24 million in its June outlook.

AV's August 2025 Form 10-Q records July 2025 public offerings of 4,057,460 common shares at $248 per share, generating $1.00625 billion gross, and $747.5 million of 0% convertible senior notes due 2030.

The AV filing records combined net proceeds of approximately $1.70 billion, with approximately $965.3 million used to repay acquisition-related borrowing. AV is publicly traded as Nasdaq: AVAV, as identified in its FY2026 Form 10-K.

Major customers & contracts

Joined live from the Procurement & Contracts Tracker — real award/announcement records.

Further disclosed customers & programs (public reporting):

AV announced Army Switchblade delivery orders of $288 million on 3 February 2025, $186 million on 26 February 2026 and $51 million on 26 August 2026, all under the existing five-year, $990 million Lethal Unmanned Systems IDIQ.

AV's February 2026 announcement identifies Switchblade 600 Block 2 and Switchblade 300 Block 20 EFP, while AV's August announcement includes 600 Block 2 and Block 1 systems for an unnamed allied FMS customer.

The U.S. government's 3 June 2026 contract notice awarded $117,306,232 for 82 P550 systems providing battalion reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition. AV's 20 July announcement identifies the Long Range Reconnaissance/Battalion Reconnaissance effort; the government notice's estimated completion date does not establish completed delivery.

On 20 April 2026, AV announced a $14.6 million VAPOR Compact Long Endurance production contract under Company-Level Directed Requirement SUAS, Tranche 2, supporting Medium Range Reconnaissance. DefenseScoop reported an Army Red Dragon contract awarded on 12 March 2026, valued at more than $17 million and covering aircraft, launchers, controllers, chargers, parts, training and field support, without a disclosed aircraft quantity.

The U.S. government's 1 July 2026 notice establishes a $500 million commercial counter-UAS contract vehicle with order-dependent funding and an estimated completion date of 29 June 2029. AV identifies the vehicle as a three-year IDIQ supporting JIATF-401's Domestic Shield programme, and AV announced an $80.5 million Titan MS award within that ceiling for Air Force layered base defence.

On 2 September 2026, AV disclosed a $464.8 million Other Transaction Agreement for the Army's Enduring-High Energy Laser programme, covering dozens of 30-kilowatt LOCUST X3 systems, support and training over several years. AV announced a direct commercial LOCUST export sale exceeding $50 million on 8 September, without identifying the customer country, quantity or delivery schedule.

AV's FMS announcement describes an $874.26 million, five-year Army FMS IDIQ covering JUMP 20, P550, Puma, Raven and Titan variants, plus training, spares and logistics; the amount is a ceiling for future orders, not booked sales. AV disclosed a $30.9 million NSPA purchase order for Germany's LARUS programme on 7 July 2026, covering Puma AE and LE, sensors, SIGINT payloads, VTOL and autonomy kits, communications, controllers and training, with deliveries required no later than late 2026.

AV announced a five-year, $46.6 million Italian Ministry of Defence JUMP 20 contract in April 2025 to replace the Shadow fleet, and AV said in July 2026 that Italy's airworthiness directorate had assigned the aircraft the MQ-31A designation. The Defense Post reported a 10-year Danish Arcturus UAV/JUMP 20 framework worth up to $181 million, with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2025; that ceiling is distinct from the initial order's value.

AV's FY2026 Form 10-K discloses Ukraine revenue of $149.6 million, or 18% of consolidated revenue, in FY2025, compared with $274.136 million, or 38%, in FY2024; these country-level figures do not identify Switchblade-only sales.

AV announced three-year awards of $97.4 million for GENESIS missile-defence sensor test environments, $43 million for PANTHER phased-array antenna integration on SkyRange platforms and $25 million for UES/AFRL human-performance technology maturation.

AV's Navy ISR announcement describes selection for contractor-owned, contractor-operated JUMP 20-X ISR services, under which AV would compete for delivery orders alongside other suppliers, without guaranteed orders or revenue.

Leadership & contact surface

Leadership: Wahid Nawabi
Official site: https://www.avinc.com

Competitive position

AV's loitering-munition procurement position includes delivery orders under the existing $990 million Army IDIQ, as described in AV's August 2026 Switchblade announcement. AV's LASSO announcement describes a Switchblade 400 prototype agreement for development, delivery and testing, without a disclosed value or an established full-rate production award.

In its 13 October 2025 manufacturing announcement, AV said Switchblade 600 output had risen from 40 to 240 per month and forecast more than 1,200 per month with additional investment and a Salt Lake City facility; those figures are dated company statements, not verified current production.

AV's broader procurement portfolio includes the government-confirmed $500 million counter-UAS vehicle, identified by AV as Domestic Shield, and the company-announced $464.8 million LOCUST E-HEL production agreement.

AV's December 2025 FMS announcement includes Raven variants alongside JUMP 20, P550, Puma and Titan, establishing their inclusion in the offering without resolving service-specific retention or retirement.

AV announced more than $30 million in planned Albuquerque investment for directed-energy and space manufacturing, supported by $6 million in state and city incentives tied to hiring milestones and a target of more than 450 new jobs. AV's Huntsville announcement describes $20.2 million in additional government investment and a 24,000-square-foot expansion supporting Freedom Eagle-1 low-rate production and future full-rate production, alongside an earlier $95.9 million NGCM/LRKI award.

AV's Dayton-area announcement describes $15 million in planned investment at Beavercreek and Xenia, approximately 44,000 square feet of additional production space and a target of 200 new jobs, including biotechnology manufacturing supporting AFRL. AV's Moorpark announcement sets out a $100 million plan to consolidate five leased Southern California locations on approximately 20 acres, with the primary property purchased, construction expected in FY2028 and full operation in 2029.

AV announced the majority-owned AV Eagle joint venture with Greece's Eyeonix SA following a shareholder agreement and Greek foreign-investment approval, with operation expected in FY2027 and potential local UAS, loitering-munition and counter-UAS production capabilities expected by 2028.

AV's Ubiqconn MOU announcement describes Kinesis/AV_Halo COMMAND integration with rugged controller hardware for Taiwan's indigenous UAS ecosystem, without disclosing a funded Taiwanese procurement award. Attalon announced a long-term agreement to supply its Valaris high-energy laser platform for AV's laser programmes and a $15 million investment in Attalon's own production expansion; the investment is neither an AV expenditure nor a disclosed agreement value.

Battlefield relevance

UNITED24 Media reported Ukrainian unit claims of Switchblade 600 strikes on Buk and Tor air-defence systems in spring 2025, with the claimed losses remaining independently unconfirmed. Defense Express described Switchblade 300's small warhead, scarcity and expense as limiting its utility and concentrating use on valuable unarmoured targets.

Neither the UNITED24 Media strike report nor the Defense Express assessment establishes a representative Switchblade-family success rate or a controlled comparison of cost-effectiveness against FPV drones.

Reuters reported that the Army used a 20-kilowatt LOCUST system near El Paso International Airport on 11 February 2026, citing two unnamed people briefed on the situation.

The Reuters account states that AV and the Pentagon had not responded and does not establish a successful interception.

AV said a palletized LOCUST system aboard USS George H.W. Bush detected, tracked and neutralized multiple target drones during an October 2025 demonstration conducted with the Navy and Army RCCTO.

AV's 21 April 2026 announcement describes a test rather than combat deployment aboard the carrier.

The U.S. Army's 31 August 2026 operational account states that Joint Task Force Southern Border used AMP-HEL to defeat three hostile drones, with imagery dated 25 August, and identifies the engagements as the first use against cartel-linked drones along the southern border.

The Army account names AMP-HEL without identifying LOCUST. AV identifies LOCUST as the laser fielded through AMP-HEL and PHEL, and AV's September export announcement attributes the acknowledged southern-border engagements to LOCUST.

The FAA stated on 10 April 2026 that it and the Department of War had completed a safety assessment after March demonstrations, finding appropriate controls and no undue passenger-aircraft risk under the assessed conditions.

The FAA release does not identify the manufacturer or provide unconditional approval of every LOCUST configuration or deployment.

Sources & verification

• Switchblade program overview — BattlePolicy
• Taiwan Switchblade 300 FMS notification — Federal Register
• FY20-22 Switchblade hardware production contract — USASpending
• LASSO / Low Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance contract — USASpending
• Ukraine RQ-20B Puma UAS contract — USASpending
• https://investor.avinc.com/news-releases/news-release-details/us-army-selects-avs-switchblader-400-lasso-program
• https://www.flightglobal.com/military-uavs/aerovironment-demonstrates-mini-predator-using-tactical-uav-carrying-loitering-munition/146633.article
• https://www.flightglobal.com/military-uavs/aerovironment-debuts-swarmable-one-way-attack-uas-with-200nm-range/162887.article
• https://militaryembedded.com/unmanned/payloads/loitering-munition-systems-to-be-supplied-to-us-army-by-aerovironment
• https://defensescoop.com/2026/04/15/aerovironment-mayhem-drone-product-launch/
• https://www.flightglobal.com/military-uavs/aerovironment-unveils-anti-armour-switchblade-600-loitering-munition/140409.article
• https://breakingdefense.com/2025/05/newly-branded-as-av-aerovironment-unveils-new-loitering-munition-predicts-play-for-cca/
• https://nationaltoday.com/us/ca/monrovia/news/2026/02/11/aerovironment-outlines-acquisition-integration-counter-drone-tech-and-contract-renegotiation/
• https://www.smgconferences.com/defence/uk/conference/loitering-munitions
• https://www.instagram.com/reel/DX69TOCFeBs/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loitering_munition
• https://www.avinc.com/solutions/
• https://www.unmannedsystemstechnology.com/events/loitering-munitions-usa/
• https://www.smgconferences.com/editors-corner/6492-news--aerovironment-and-general-dynamics-land-systems-demonstrate-perch-loitering-munitions-launcher-at-us-army-event
• https://www.smgconferences.com/editors-corner/6260-news--aerovironment-introduces-new-additions-to-switchblade-loitering-munition-lineup

Analyst verdict Pro