Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile Systems procured by Army
NewsMay 15, 2020
MONROVIA, Calif. AeroVironment, Inc., unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) company, announced the receipt of a one-year, $75.9 million funded contract award from the U.S. Army for procurement of the company’s Switchblade loitering missile system.
The contract award was funded for the first year of procurement through a Joint Urgent Operational Need Statement from the United States Army Tactical Aviation and Ground Munitions (TAGM) project office. Start of deliveries is anticipated by September 2020. Two additional one-year options, currently unfunded, would extend the period of performance through April 2023 on a sole-source basis.
According to the company, AeroVironment’s Switchblade is back-packable and rapidly deployable from ground platforms including a 6-pack launcher, providing warfighters with rapid-response force protection and precision strike capabilities up to 10 kilometers (6 miles) from its launch location.
The company claims that its high precision, combined with specialized effects and patented wave-off feature, results in Switchblade’s ability to minimize or even eliminate collateral damage. Northrop Grumman is a key partner on the Switchblade system, providing single purpose and multimode warheads for the program.
