Robot model
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.
- Manufacturer
- AeroVironment
- Form factor
- aerial
- Maturity
- production
- Lifecycle
- active
- Deployments
- 1
Appears inMilitary & defense drones
Overview
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.
Verified vs. claimed
- Maturity stage
- production(Full-scale production deployment with repeat customers.)
- Verified deployments
- 1 deployment on file
- Sources on file
- 2 sources, view all
Key facts
Form factor
aerial
Autonomy level
AVACORE/ARK retrofit target
Variants
Puma AE, Puma 3 AE, Puma LE
Type
small UAS (hand-launched)
Specs
Type
small UAS (hand-launched)
Autonomy
AVACORE/ARK retrofit target
Variants
Puma AE, Puma 3 AE, Puma LE
Data & sources
Press releases
1
Web sources
1
2 sources backing this record.View all →
Accountability: AeroVironment has a Claim Integrity of 67% (2 of 3 public claims verified). See the industry ledger.
Pricing
No verified price is on record for AeroVironment Puma. Physical-AI systems are often sold through enterprise contracts or operated as a service rather than at a public list price.
Deployments (1)
- AeroVironment Puma at Monroviaoperational
AeroVironment Puma AE small UAS deployed with US Navy, Marine Corps, and allied forces.
AeroVironment Puma on the deployment map
Where AeroVironment Puma is 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 →
Recent activity
- CreatedMay 31, 2026
Deployment-verified media (1)
AeroVironment's film for the Puma LE hand-launched ISR UAS. A remotely-piloted reconnaissance aircraft, not autonomous; 'LE' denotes the long-endurance variant.
From deployment: Monrovia
Runs on (1)
- AeroVironment AVACOREframework · production
Safety record
No incidents on record for AeroVironment Puma.
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Sources (2)
Common questions
- What is 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.
- How much does AeroVironment Puma cost?
- AeroVironment Puma's price is not publicly disclosed. DEPLOY has no verified price on record for AeroVironment Puma from AeroVironment. Physical-AI systems like this are often sold through enterprise contracts or operated as a service rather than at a public list price; check the manufacturer for the latest.
- Is AeroVironment Puma actually deployed in the real world?
- Yes. AeroVironment Puma is independently verified in real-world operation on the DEPLOY registry, confirmed at named deployment sites with primary sources: not a concept, render, or demo-only.
- Who makes AeroVironment Puma?
- AeroVironment Puma is made by AeroVironment, based in Arlington, Virginia, USA, founded in 1971.
- Where is AeroVironment Puma deployed?
- 1 verified deployment of AeroVironment Puma is on the DEPLOY registry, including at Monrovia.
- Can you buy AeroVironment Puma?
- AeroVironment Puma is in commercial deployment and is sold to operators; contact the manufacturer to buy, and see the pricing section for any recorded price.
- What AI powers AeroVironment Puma?
- AeroVironment Puma runs AeroVironment AVACORE. Each brain assignment is verified at the registry level via primary sources.
- What are alternatives to AeroVironment Puma?
- On the DEPLOY registry, comparable aerial robots to AeroVironment Puma include Skydio X10, Wing Delivery Aircraft, MQ-9 Reaper, Matternet M2.
- How does AeroVironment Puma compare to Skydio X10?
- AeroVironment Puma and Skydio X10 (Skydio · 5 deployments) are both aerial robots on the DEPLOY registry. AeroVironment Puma has 1 verified deployment on record. Compare both records for specs, safety, deployments, and verified-vs-claimed autonomy.
- Is AeroVironment Puma a top aerial?
- On DEPLOY's intelligence score, which blends verified deployments, safety, adoption, media, and IP signals, AeroVironment Puma ranks in roughly the top 18% of aerial models tracked by the registry.
- What is AeroVironment Puma's maturity stage?
- AeroVironment Puma is at the production stage on the DEPLOY maturity ladder (research, prototype, pilot, commercial, production). Production stage means high-volume manufacture and commercial-scale deployments are sustained.
- Is AeroVironment Puma safe?
- AeroVironment Puma has no incidents on record in the DEPLOY registry. This does not constitute a safety guarantee; it reflects the incidents DEPLOY has tracked and verified to date.
Methodology: Verified · 2 sources (1 primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-12
Verification posture
Verified
High confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-07-12
Maturity + lifecycle
Maturity stage: production
Lifecycle: active
Architectural position
Cohort: aerial
Sources by quality tier
- 1
- primary-company-ir
- Company IR disclosure
- 1
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for AeroVironment Puma.Recent coverage
AeroVironment Puma in third-party press
Attention vs reality over time
Media mentions per month (area) against verified deployment events (dots). A press spike over a flat deployment line is the hype gap, drawn over time.
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning AeroVironment Puma 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.
Aerovironment secures $20.86 million in Puma 3 AE for allied nations sales awards - sUAS News
<a…
AeroVironment Secures $20.86 Million in Puma 3 AE Unmanned Aircraft Systems Foreign Military Sales Awards for Allied Nations - EDR Magazine - European Defence Review
<a…
AeroVironment Introduces Puma VNS for sUAS - Joint Forces
<a…
AeroVironment Awarded $6.2 Million Puma 3 AE Unmanned Aircraft Systems Contract by United States Marine Corps - EDR Magazine - European Defence Review
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Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /models/aerovironment-puma.md
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/models/b0a7b33c-ff05-4aa4-8916-d3fa5efe8b54
- Revision history: /models/aerovironment-puma/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Video
Why Choose AeroVironment ? At AeroVironment, we are working together, and have been for decades, on transformative innovations to protect, sustain and connect
AeroVironment has received a contract modification, raising the value of its contract with the US Army to sell Puma 3 AE RQ-20B drones by $11.24 million. While
The latest in drone and robotics technology was on display recently at the world's largest unmanned systems exhibition in Washington, D.C. California-based Aero
The latest in drone and robotics technology was on display recently at the world's largest unmanned systems exhibition in Washington, D.C. California-based Aero
Description: Finally unveiled, the RQ-20 Puma AE from AeroVironment, USA, is a lightweight, hand-launched military drone built for all environments — land, sea,
The AeroVironment capstone team is designing a solution for remote drone deployment via an AeroVironment puma LE mothership. Their objective is to stow and depl
The first commercial drone Recently, the Federal Aviation Administration approved the first commercial drone, AeroVironment'S RQ-20A Puma AE, a small hand-launc
AeroVironment reported fiscal fourth quarter revenue of $641.6 million, up 133 percent, and full year revenue near $2 billion. Funded backlog reached $1.2 billi
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 Puma draws attention at the 90th percentile but verifies reality at the 31st percentile among aerial robots. Hype Gap +58.7, 5th widest among aerial robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Strong recent media coverage and press activity. Thin deployment record; scale validation still in progress.
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 15, 2026