AeroVironment
AeroVironment (AV) designs and produces tactical UAS and loitering munitions — including the Switchblade family — for U.S. and allied militaries.
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.
Its core product line centers on loitering munitions and tactical UAS: the Switchblade 300 (anti-personnel), Switchblade 400 (selected for the U.S.
Army's LASSO program in May 2026), and Switchblade 600 Block 2 (anti-armor); plus the Jump 20 VTOL tactical UAS inherited from the Arcturus acquisition; and newer systems including the Red Dragon one-way attack UAS (claimed 400 km range) and the Mayhem 10 multi-role launched effects system announced April 2026.
AV sells primarily through direct U.S. government contracts and foreign military sales.
Its 2026 acquisition of BlueHalo added counter-UAS, directed energy, and cyber/EW capabilities, prompting a corporate rebrand from AeroVironment to AV and expanding its addressable program base.
Linked records
Wired to the rest of BattlePolicy — the systems it builds in the Lexicon and the contracts it wins in the Procurement Tracker. This is the part no competitor can copy.
- US Marine Corps — Switchblade 300 Block 20
- US Army — Switchblade 300
- US Marine Corps — Switchblade 300
- US SOCOM — Switchblade 300
- United States — Switchblade 600
- Taiwan — Switchblade 300 Loitering Missile System
- United States — FY20-22 SWITCHBLADE HARDWARE PRODUCTION
- United States — LOW ALTITUDE STALKING AND STRIKE ORDNANCE SCD IS A
- United States — UKRAINE RQ-20B ALL ENVIRONMENT (AE) 3 AND LONG ENDURANCE (LE) PUMA UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTE
- United States — P550 scout drone (82 units, AeroVironment)
- none linked yet
Financial footing Pro
- Prime for US Army loitering-munition programs
AeroVironment is a publicly traded company (Nasdaq: AVAV) with no meaningful venture-funding history. Its capital has been raised through public equity markets since its 2007 IPO. A specific mid-2026 market capitalization figure is not confirmed in available data. The U.S. Army has obligated at least $186 million in a single delivery order covering Switchblade 300 Block 20 and Switchblade 600 Block 2 systems. The U.S.
military has cumulatively spent more than $1 billion buying Switchblade munitions across fiscal years, per FlightGlobal reporting. A proposed Taiwan FMS case valued at $60.2 million ($55.5 million major defense equipment, $4.7 million other) was notified to Congress in September 2025. FY20–22 Switchblade hardware production was captured under Army contract W31P4Q20C0024. The BlueHalo acquisition, closed by mid-2026, was the company's largest strategic transaction and was funded through AV's public-market balance sheet.
Major customers & contracts Pro
Joined live from the Procurement & Contracts Tracker — real award/announcement records.
| Customer | System | Scale / detail | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Marine Corps | Switchblade 300 Block 20 | OPF-L evaluation award | signed |
| US Army | Switchblade 300 | Specific contract ceilings embedded in classified or restricted-budget lines | framework |
| US Marine Corps | Switchblade 300 | — | delivered |
| US SOCOM | Switchblade 300 | — | delivered |
| United States | Switchblade 600 | Exact per-unit pricing and contract values remain unconfirmed | delivered |
| Taiwan | Switchblade 300 Loitering Missile System | Major Defense Equipment $55.5 million, Other $4.7 million, Total $60.2 million | tender |
| United States | FY20-22 SWITCHBLADE HARDWARE PRODUCTION | FY20-22 SWITCHBLADE HARDWARE PRODUCTION | signed |
| United States | LOW ALTITUDE STALKING AND STRIKE ORDNANCE SCD IS A | LOW ALTITUDE STALKING AND STRIKE ORDNANCE SCD IS A | signed |
| United States | UKRAINE RQ-20B ALL ENVIRONMENT (AE) 3 AND LONG ENDURANCE (LE) PUMA UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTE | UKRAINE RQ-20B ALL ENVIRONMENT (AE) 3 AND LONG ENDURANCE (LE) PUMA UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS (UAS) ACCESSORIES AND SERVICES IN SUPPORT OF | signed |
| United States | P550 scout drone (82 units, AeroVironment) | 117300000 | signed |
Further disclosed customers & programs (public reporting):
The U.S. Army selected Switchblade 400 for the Low Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance (LASSO) program via a prototype agreement announced May 4, 2026. The Army also awarded a $186 million delivery order for Switchblade 600 Block 2 and Switchblade 300 Block 20. Army contract W31P4Q20C0024 covered FY20–22 Switchblade hardware production. The U.S. Marine Corps received Switchblade 300 deliveries and evaluated Switchblade 300 Block 20 under the OPF-L (Organic Precision Fires-Light) program; AV has also proposed Switchblade 600 for the Marine Corps Organic Precision Fires-Mounted requirement.
U.S. Special Operations Command operates Jump 20 tactical UAS systems. The Pentagon procured hundreds of Switchblade munitions for transfer to Ukraine under contract W58RGZ23C0007, covering RQ-20B Puma UAS accessories and services in Ukraine support. A U.S. State Department arms sale notification filed September 30, 2025 proposed a $60.2 million Switchblade 300 Loitering Missile System sale to Taiwan via FMS.
Leadership & contact surface Pro
Leadership: Wahid Nawabi
Official site: https://www.avinc.com
Competitive position Pro
Against Kratos Defense, AV holds a program-of-record advantage in loitering munitions with fielded Switchblade variants already in DoD inventory, while Kratos competes more directly in attritable jet-powered drones for Collaborative Combat Aircraft adjacencies. Against Anduril, whose Bolt-M and Roadrunner target overlapping Marine Corps and Army requirements, AV counters with Switchblade's established logistics tail and the new Block 20 variants; Anduril's software-centric model and deep-pocketed private backing are a structural threat to AV's margin profile.
Against Textron's Cottonmouth and other Army loitering-munition entrants, AV's LASSO award for Switchblade 400 in May 2026 demonstrates competitive wins in the newest Army program generation. Against larger primes such as Raytheon and Northrop Grumman in the broader launched-effects space, AV's edge is speed of development and unit-cost positioning; its weakness is limited scale for high-volume production surges. The BlueHalo acquisition differentiates AV in counter-UAS and directed energy, markets where specialist firms like Dedrone and Epirus also compete.
Battlefield relevance Pro
Switchblade 300 and Switchblade 600 munitions have been used in combat in Ukraine since 2022, supplied under Pentagon contracts. Hundreds of Switchblade units were delivered to Ukrainian forces. The U.S. military has separately expended Switchblades in its own operational inventory, with cumulative DoD spending exceeding $1 billion across the program.
RQ-20B Puma UAS systems, including All Environment and Long Endurance variants, were procured for Ukraine support under Army contract W58RGZ23C0007. Jump 20 is operated by U.S. Special Operations Command, though specific SOCOM deployment theaters are not publicly confirmed. AV has described some newer systems as combat-tested overseas, though theater-specific details for platforms beyond Switchblade and Puma are not publicly confirmed.
Analyst verdict Pro
AV enters the back half of 2026 as a structurally larger company following the BlueHalo deal, but integration risk is real: absorbing a counter-UAS and directed-energy business while simultaneously managing three active Switchblade variant production lines, a new LASSO prototype obligation, and Ukraine replenishment contracts is a demanding operational agenda for a firm that was historically a lean tactical-UAS specialist. The single biggest risk is program-of-record concentration — if the Army restructures LASSO or delays Switchblade 400 full-rate production, near-term revenue visibility narrows sharply.
The competitive moat is meaningful but narrowing: Switchblade's logistics and training infrastructure inside the Army and Marine Corps is a genuine switching-cost barrier, but Anduril's Bolt-M is specifically targeting the same OPF-L lane. Three things to watch: (1) LASSO prototype outcomes and whether Switchblade 400 transitions to an EMD contract by late 2026; (2) whether the Taiwan $60.2 million FMS case receives Congressional clearance and triggers follow-on FMS demand from other Indo-Pacific partners; (3) Red Dragon's path to a program-of-record given its 400 km range claim and swarm-capable architecture.
Sources & verification Pro
- 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