AeroVironment has announced that on July 25, it received a firm fixed-price contract award for $45,190,881 for its RQ-11B Raven small UAS and initial spares packages.

The contract came from the United States Army for its Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFAB), which are “specialized units” designed to conduct training, advising, assisting, enabling and accompanying operations with allied and partner nations. The expected delivery date is January 2020.   

“Raven is the most widely deployed small unmanned aircraft system in the United States Department of Defense’s fleet,” says Rick Pedigo, vice president, sales and business development for AeroVironment.

“Our family of small unmanned aircraft systems supports all U.S. military services and more than 45 allied nations. Every day, AeroVironment small UAS provide the actionable intelligence our customers need to proceed with certainty.”

AeroVironment notes that in a report published by the United States Army on July 24, Sgt. Jordan Aguiar, a cavalry scout assigned to Alpha Troop of the 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry Regiment, said the Raven is “more agile and less detectable” than larger, more expensive UAS.

Soldiers use the UAS to conduct battlefield reconnaissance, and to provide a greater level of security for their units. 

“If you need to have eyes on a target, or eyes on a convoy to make sure everything is safe, it's good to send out the Raven instead of risking someone getting hurt or killed,” says Sgt. Foluke Marsh.