Company
AeroVironment
American defense-technology and unmanned-systems company (NASDAQ: AVAV), founded 1971 by Paul MacCready.
- Founded
- 1971
- HQ
- Arlington, Virginia, USA
- Status
- public
Appears inMilitary & defense drones
Models
3
Overview
American defense-technology and unmanned-systems company (NASDAQ: AVAV), founded 1971 by Paul MacCready. Best known for small unmanned aircraft (Puma) and Switchblade loitering munitions, plus the newer P550 and the JUMP 20 VTOL. Reported about $820.6M revenue in FY2025 (ended Apr 30, 2025) and closed the ~$4.1B all-stock acquisition of BlueHalo in May 2025. Its AVACORE open autonomy software architecture spans platforms.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- None on file
- Active incidents
- 1 incident on file
DEPLOY Intelligence
Market intelligence for physical AI
Analyst-grade signals, competitive tracking, and investment context across the global physical AI landscape. Launching 2026.
Key facts
Public
NASDAQ: AVAV
Revenue
~$820.6M in FY2025 (standalone); FY2026 guidance ~$1.9-2.0B reflects the post-BlueHalo combined company
Acquisition
Acquired BlueHalo (~$4.1B all-stock; closed May 1, 2025; AV 60.5% / BlueHalo 39.5%)
Founded
1971 by Paul MacCready; CEO Wahid Nawabi
Software
AVACORE open autonomy software architecture (behavior-tree based, cross-platform)
wikidata
wikipedia
Data & sources
Company filings
3
Press releases
5
Web sources
4
12 sources backing this record.View all →
Models (3)
View all models →Current platform
AeroVironment Puma
Hand-launched small unmanned aircraft system (Puma AE / Puma 3 AE / Puma LE) for ISR, long-fielded with the US military and allies. A named retrofit target for the AVACORE autonomy architecture and ARK edge-compute kit.
Current platform
AeroVironment P550
Group 2 eVTOL unmanned aircraft system with about five hours endurance, delivered to the US Army under the Long Range Reconnaissance (LRR) program; a $117M Army production deal followed in 2026.
Current platform
AeroVironment Switchblade (300/600)
Tube-launched loitering munitions: the Switchblade 300 (anti-personnel) and Switchblade 600 (anti-armor). Mass-produced and supplied to the US Army under a nearly $1B IDIQ and sent to Ukraine. The US Army program of record is LMAMS (Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile System).
AeroVironment on the deployment map
Where AeroVironment's robots are verified operating. Explore the deployment map by place and type.
- delivery and inspection drones in United States →
- delivery and inspection drones in California →
- delivery and inspection drones in Ukraine (combat zones) →
- delivery and inspection drones in Nevada →
- delivery and inspection drones in United Kingdom →
- delivery and inspection drones in China →
- The global deployment map →
Relationships
Claims ledger
Public, dated claims by AeroVironment, each tracked against the evidence. Status is a DEPLOY assessment from primary sources: verified means an independent source confirms it; contradicted means one refutes it; open means the outcome is not yet determinable. Every entry keeps its verbatim quote and source so you can check the call yourself.
- VerifiedCustomer · claimed 2026-07-02
“AeroVironment Secures $500 Million U.S. Defense Contract for Counter-Drone Systems”
Three-year, $500M firm-fixed-price US Army contract for counter-UAS systems confirmed by multiple sources. https://news.clearancejobs.com/2026/07/02/army-awards-aerovironment-500m-counter-drone-contract/
- VerifiedCapacity · claimed 2026-01-01
“AeroVironment to produce deadly drones at scale”
AeroVironment is publicly traded (NASDAQ: AVAV) and producing Switchblade loitering munitions at scale for US military and allies. $500M counter-drone contract confirms production scale. https://www.perplexity.ai/finance/AVAV
- RetractedCapacity · claimed 2025-01-01 · deadline 2025-12-31
“Nearly three million drones ready by end of 2025”
CORRECTION: The '3 million drones' figure originated from a Forbes social post about Ukraine's total FPV drone supply chain, not an AeroVironment exec statement. The claim appears mis-attributed — AeroVironment's actual scale is thousands of systems via $874M IDIQ contract. Marking as retracted (claim appears mis-recorded). Flag to CoS: the Claim text itself may need correction — the source URL is a Forbes Facebook post, not a primary AeroVironment statement.
Disagree with a status? AeroVironment can submit a correction with evidence and we log the response on the record. Methodology and the full industry ledger live at /stats/claim-integrity.
Current leadership (6)
- Wahid Nawabi Chairman, President & CEOIR-verified
- Sean Woodward EVP & CFOIR-verified
- Rob Smith EVP & COOIR-verified
- Trace Stevenson President, Autonomous SystemsIR-verified
- Mary Clum President, Space, Cyber & Directed EnergyIR-verified
- Scott Bowman CTO & SVP Global EngineeringIR-verified
Board (10)
- Wahid Nawabi chair
- Edward Muller director
- Charles Burbage director
- David Wodlinger director
- Henry Albers director
- Stephen Page director
- Cindy Lewis director
- Philip Davidson director
- Mary Beth Long director
- Joseph Votel director
Safety record
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Full safety record: incidents, sourcing, and exposure data →
Incidents affecting AeroVironment (1)
- Pentagon awards AeroVironment 00M contract for counter-drone technology2026-07-02 · Regulatory action
Includes incidents linked directly to this company, to its models, or to deployments of its models or under its operation. Retracted incidents are excluded from this view but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Brains developed (1)
- AeroVironment AVACOREframework · production
Recent coverage
AeroVironment in third-party press
Peer companies
- Anduril Industries7 models
- DJI7 models
- Amazon4 models
- Autel Robotics4 models
- Teledyne FLIR4 models
- BRINC3 models
Financial state
- Reporting basis
- sec_10k
- Revenue disclosed
- $820600000 (sec_10k)
- Lifecycle stage
- growth
- Counterparty risk class
- low
Each numeric field carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.
Partnerships (4)
- AeroVironment x Pentagon 00M Counter-Drone Contract with Pentagondeployment
- US Army x AeroVironment 500M counter-drone contract with US Armydeployment
- AeroVironment x US Army 500M Counter-Drone with U.S. Armydeployment
- AeroVironment x US Army P550 with US Armydeployment
Acquisitions (2)
- acquired BlueHalofull acquisition
- acquired Arcturus UAVfull acquisition
Sources (12)
- https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001368622/000155837025008838/avav-20250430x10k.htm
- https://investor.avinc.com/node/19576/pdf
- https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/aerovironment-revenue-jumps-14-fiscal-2025
- https://investor.avinc.com/news-releases/news-release-details/aerovironment-acquire-bluehalo-establishing-next-generation
- https://spacenews.com/aerovironment-to-acquire-bluehalo-in-4-1-billion-deal/
- https://www.avinc.com/resources/press-releases/view/aerovironment-and-bluehalo-complete-transaction-creating-a-global-defense-technology
- https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1368622/000110465925043118/tm2513632d1_ex99-1.htm
- https://www.army-technology.com/news/av-bluehalo-acquisition-us/
- https://investor.avinc.com/board-directors/wahid-nawabi
- https://www.avinc.com/resources/press-releases/view/dr._paul_maccready_founder_and_former_chairman_of_aerovironment_dies
- https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1368622/000155837025011973/avav-20250802x10q.htm
- https://www.defensenews.com/land/2024/08/28/aerovironment-wins-nearly-1b-to-supply-switchblade-munitions-to-army/
Common questions
- What is AeroVironment?
- American defense-technology and unmanned-systems company (NASDAQ: AVAV), founded 1971 by Paul MacCready. Best known for small unmanned aircraft (Puma) and Switchblade loitering munitions, plus the newer P550 and the JUMP 20 VTOL. Reported about $820.6M revenue in FY2025 (ended Apr 30, 2025) and closed the ~$4.1B all-stock acquisition of BlueHalo in May 2025. Its AVACORE open autonomy software architecture spans platforms.
- What does AeroVironment make?
- AeroVironment has 3 robot models on the DEPLOY registry: AeroVironment Puma, AeroVironment P550, AeroVironment Switchblade (300/600) (AeroVironment builds both physical robots and the AI that runs them).
- Is AeroVironment publicly traded?
- AeroVironment is not an independent public company; it has been acquired, per the DEPLOY registry.
- Who competes with AeroVironment?
- On the DEPLOY registry, peer companies to AeroVironment building in the same form factors include Anduril Industries, DJI, Amazon, Autel Robotics.
- Where is AeroVironment headquartered?
- AeroVironment is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, USA.
- Where does AeroVironment operate robots?
- AeroVironment is a robot manufacturer and does not directly operate deployments on the DEPLOY registry. Its products are deployed by customer operators; see the company page for the verified deployment record.
- Is AeroVironment a top robotics company?
- On DEPLOY's intelligence score, which blends verified deployments, funding, hiring, media, safety, and IP signals, AeroVironment ranks in roughly the top 39% of companies tracked by the registry.
- When was AeroVironment founded?
- AeroVironment was founded in 1971.
- Are there any incidents involving AeroVironment?
- 1 active incident involving AeroVironment is on the DEPLOY registry. Each is a sourced, append-only record; retracted incidents are suppressed from this view.
- Is AeroVironment safe?
- AeroVironment has 1 active incident on record in the DEPLOY registry. 1 incident on record (1 minor). Most recent: Jul 2026. Retracted incidents are excluded from this count.
Methodology: Verified · 12 sources (8 primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-03
Verification posture
Verified
High confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-07-03
Sources by quality tier
- 5
- primary-company-ir
- Company IR disclosure
- 4
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
- 3
- primary-sec-filing
- SEC filing
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for AeroVironment.Peer companies
- Anduril Industries7 models
- DJI7 models
- Amazon4 models
- Autel Robotics4 models
- Teledyne FLIR4 models
- BRINC3 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning AeroVironment from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
Army Awards AeroVironment 500M Counter-Drone Contract
The U.S. Army awarded AeroVironment a 500M contract for commercial counter-drone and counter-small unmanned aerial systems capabilities.
Pentagon awards 500M contract for counter-drone tech to AeroVironment
The Pentagon awarded AeroVironment a 500M counter-drone system contract from the US Army on July 2 2026. The contract supports counter-UAS technology as the military adapts to…
New Pentagon unmanned czar will oversee most drone programs
The Pentagon established a new office to oversee tens of billions of dollars in drone programs across the entire military according to a memo. The unmanned czar will coordinate…
Defense companies rush to field new counter-drone systems as Pentagon leaders testify
Defense News: Defense companies rushing to field new counter-drone systems. Pentagon leaders testifying on UAS threats. Companies need to work with Ukraine.
AeroVironment Lands 17M Army Drone Contract for P550
AeroVironment secured 17.3M US Army contract for 82 P550 long-range reconnaissance UAS. Delivery by late July 2026.
AeroVironment Wins 17M Army Contract for 82 P550 Drones
AeroVironment secured 17.3M US Army contract for 82 P550 long-range reconnaissance drones. Delivery by late July 2026.
5 US bases selected for anti-drone pilot program
Five US military installations selected for anti-drone energy systems. Two along southern border. Counter-UAS pilot program.
Hegseth directive: Every squad equipped with expendable drones by end of 2026
Defense Secretary Hegseth directed every squad to be equipped with low-cost expendable drones by end of FY2026. Priority to Indo-Pacific combat units.
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/aerovironment.md
- RSS feed: /companies/aerovironment/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/a1306b4f-26b1-459a-84ec-d1ba6ee8f822
- Revision history: /companies/aerovironment/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Peer companies
- Anduril Industries7 models
- DJI7 models
- Amazon4 models
- Autel Robotics4 models
- Teledyne FLIR4 models
- BRINC3 models
Video
Since the start of the Ukrainian counter-offensive, there has been a notable rise in the use of Lancet drones by the Russian military. More specifically, they h
The United States sends switchblade drones to Ukraine as part of the Biden administration's new 800 million dollar weapons package. The package will include 10
Why Choose AeroVironment ? At AeroVironment, we are working together, and have been for decades, on transformative innovations to protect, sustain and connect
At AV, we build shoulder-to-shoulder with our customers, delivering systems shaped by real-world missions, not theoretical requirements. Now stronger than ever,
In our "Weapon of the Week," we feature AeroVironment's P-550 drone. With advanced reconnaissance capabilities and high-tech sensors for real-time intelligence,
AeroVironment introduced a groundbreaking set of software updates under the name Project GOLD designed to enhance the operational capabilities of its Puma 3 AE
CNBC's Morgan Brennan sits down with AeroVironment CEO Wahid Nawabi to discuss the expanding role of drones in defense and opportunities in the civilian market.
Reality vs attention
AeroVironment draws attention at the 93rd percentile but verifies reality at the 67th percentile among aerial robots. Hype Gap +26.6, 14th widest among aerial robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Safety profile within acceptable range for category. Broad public reach with 1.7M video views. Limited public funding data for capital position assessment.
Signal flags
Dimension breakdown
Verified signal
Attention (reach, not merit)
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
DEPLOY Indices — verified vs claimed
Last computed: Jul 14, 2026