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U.S. Defense Innovation Unit Selects Four Companies Including AeroVironment

AeroVironment Dominates Over 80% of U.S. Military's Small UAV Market Previously Signed MOU for Production Cooperation on High-Performance Tactical Drones with SPACEPRO

AeroVironment, a U.S. tactical drone manufacturer, has been selected as a developer for the U.S. Department of Defense's loitering munition program. AeroVironment is a production partner of SPACEPRO.

According to the U.S. military professional media outlet Breaking Defense on the 17th, the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) selected AeroVironment, Draganfly, and two anonymous Ukrainian companies as loitering munition developers.

The DIU is driving the development of loitering munitions under the name 'Artemis Program.' 

This program aims to develop prototypes for ground-launched loitering munitions capable of flying at low altitudes for distances of 50 to over 300 kilometers.

The DIU issued a request for proposal last year and reviewed proposals from 165 companies. The selection process was finalized after conducting flight demonstrations and other procedures.

AeroVironment, one of the selected developers, is a U.S. defense contractor that designs and manufactures military Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). 

It produces tactical-level reconnaissance drones like the Raven and Puma, as well as battalion/brigade-level drones such as the Jump 20 and the loitering munition Switchblade.

AeroVironment currently holds a market share of approximately 80% or more of small UAVs used by the U.S. military and exports to 55 allied nations. 

The U.S. Department of Defense provided large quantities of AeroVironment products to Ukraine in 2022.

In 2023, the company also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with SPACEPRO for 'production cooperation on high-performance tactical drones.' 

The MOU included acknowledging SPACEPRO as the first-priority cooperative partner for the domestic production and supply of fuselage and wing components for the Raven and Puma drones.

Meanwhile, SPACEPRO changed its major shareholder in 2020 by transferring management stakes to New Power Plasma, a core component manufacturer for semiconductor and display equipment.

[Source: The Guru]