AeroVironment
 |
|
| Public | |
| Traded as |
NASDAQ: AVAV S&P 600 Component |
| Industry | Aerospace, Energy |
| Founded | 1971 |
| Headquarters | Monrovia, California, United States |
|
Key people
|
Paul B. MacCready, Jr., Founder |
| Revenue |
 US$ 179.537 million (April 30, 2012) |
|
US$ 43.538 million (2012) |
|
|
US$ 30.451 million (2012) |
|
| Total assets |
US$ 369.151 million (April 30, 2012) |
| Total equity |
US$ 299.198 million (April 30, 2012) |
| Website | www.avinc.com |
AeroVironment, Inc. is an American technology company in Monrovia, California, and Simi Valley, California, that is primarily involved in energy systems, electric vehicle systems, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Paul B. MacCready, Jr., a designer of human-powered aircraft, founded the company in 1971. The company is probably most well known for developing a series of lightweight human-powered and then solar-powered vehicles. AeroVironment is the Pentagon's top supplier of small drones — including the Raven, Wasp and Puma models. They have signed a strategic partnership with Lockheed Martin Corp to develop their 'Global Observer' to provide "persistent airborne observation".
Among the vehicles the company built are:
AeroVironment holds a five-year, $4.7 million IDIQ (indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity) contract from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory for the development of advanced propulsion technologies for UAVs. The contract also provides for specific technological tasks such as integration of solar cells into aircraft wings, electric motor efficiency improvement technologies, and development of hydrogen storage systems for aircraft.
As a US-based provider of products and technology for clean energy and efficient vehicles, AeroVironment has received a United States patent for technology that facilitates the optimal charging, management, control and maintenance of battery packs, chargers and electric vehicles (EVs).
In 2013, AeroVironment participated in the DARPA TERN program, and received $2 million for Phase 1 and $19 million for Phase 2. The "Tactically Exploited Reconnaissance Node" program attempts to launch and recover a UAV from mid-size ships to provide long distance intelligence gathering. However, in September 2015 AeroVironment was not selected to move onto Phase 3 of the program.
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