Monrovia CA (SPX) Feb 12, 2009AeroVironment has received an order from the U.S. Army valued at $16,758,776 for the production of 50 new Raven (RQ-11B) unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) equipped with AV's Digital Data Link (DDL). Announced by the U.S. Army on January 22, 2009, this production order was issued under an existing contract and includes initial spares packages and DDL retrofit kits for 206 existing Raven ... more
Commentary: 'Wired for War'
Washington (UPI) Feb 9, 2009From their cockpit at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, the pilot and co-pilot are flying a pilotless Predator on a bombing mission over Afghanistan, 8,000 miles away. Ordnance aboard includes four Hellfire missiles and two 500-pound bombs. A forward air controller using another unmanned drone spots the target, and the Predator bomber takes off under local control from Kandahar in Afghanistan. ... more
AFRL Picks Industry Team As Phase II Integrator For Automated Aerial Refueling
St. Louis MO (SPX) Feb 06, 2009The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has awarded an industry team led by Boeing a four-year contract worth $49 million to continue developing technology that will enable an unmanned air vehicle (UAV) to autonomously rendezvous with a tanker aircraft and refuel. Under Phase II of the Automated Aerial Refueling (AAR) program, the industry team, formally named the AAR Integrator Team ... more
AeroVironment Awarded Contract Option For Raven UAV
Monrovia CA (SPX) Feb 06, 2009AeroVironment has announced that the U.S. Army has ordered additional RQ-11B Raven small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and associated services for its fiscal year 2009 requirements by the exercise of an option under an existing contract. Each Raven system typically consists of three aircraft, two ground control stations, and spares. The aggregate order value is $41.7 million and is fully ... more
