AeroVironment, Inc. announced that it received a firm-fixed-price contract order valued at over $14 million under an existing contract with the US Army. The order comprises digital Raven small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) retrofit kits. Work is scheduled to be completed by December 2011.

The Raven unmanned aircraft is a two kg, backpackable, hand-launched sensor platform that provides day and night, real-time video imagery for “over the hill” and “around the corner” reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition in support of tactical units. US armed forces use Raven systems extensively for missions such as base security, route reconnaissance, mission planning and force protection. Each Raven system typically consists of three aircraft, two ground control stations and spares.