Radio frequency modifications to Raven UAS will take place under Army contract
NewsMarch 26, 2021
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. AeroVironment, Inc., company specializing in Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), announced that the U.S. Army exercised the second of three options under the sole source Flight Control Systems (FCS) domain of the Army’s multi-year small UAS contract. The value of the contract option is $20,979,905 and includes avionics and data link upgrade packages to modify radio frequencies employed by the Army’s existing fleet of Raven tactical UAS.
The contract option was exercised under the Army’s FCS domain awarded to AeroVironment in June 2019 with an initial base delivery order of $862,488. According to officials, FCS is the first of six domains comprising the Army’s existing five-year Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) SUAS contract and has a potential value of up to $55 million.
AeroVironment claims that the Raven system is designed for rapid deployment and high mobility for operations requiring low-altitude Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR). The Raven’s Mantis i23 EO/IR gimbaled payload is designed to deliver real-time video or infrared imagery to ground control and remote viewing stations.
According to the company, AeroVironment’s family of tactical UAS comprises the majority of unmanned aircraft in the U.S. Department of Defense inventory, and its growing international customer base numbers more than 50 allied governments.
