AeroVironment gets order for 63 Raven backpackable, hand-launched surveillance UAVs
REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala., 11 May 2010. U.S. Army officials are looking to AeroVironment Inc. in Simi Valley, Calif., to provide 63 hand-launched unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), as well as spare parts for the small UAVs and logistics support.
The Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., awarded AeroVironment an $11.2 million contract Monday for 63 Raven UAV systems; 63 Raven initial spare packages; Raven engineering services; and logistics support for the family of systems.
The RQ-11 Raven is a remote-controlled small UAV, which t is launched by hand and powered by an electric motor. The plane can fly as far as 6.2 miles at altitudes as high as 1,000 feet above ground level at speeds 28 to 60 miles per hour. Fighting forces can transport these small UAVs in backpacks and use it to see over the next hill during military maneuvers.
The small UAV weighs less than five pounds, and can provide day or night aerial intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. AeroVironment will do the work in Simi Valley, Calif., and should be finished early next year.
The Raven can be either remotely controlled from the ground station or fly autonomously with GPS waypoint navigation. Operators can order the UAV back to its launch point by pressing a command button. Raven payloads include charge-coupled device color video cameras and an infrared night vision camera.
For more information contact AeroVironment online at www.avinc.com.
John Keller | Editor
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
